Washington Red Tide Status

Q: Does clear water mean there is no bloom in Washington?

No. The organisms monitored in Washington do not have to discolour the water to reach the levels an agency acts on, and the toxins involved are invisible, tasteless, and not removed by cooking. Every agency on these pages says some version of the same thing: what the water looks like is not the test, and the published status is.

Q: How often is the Washington status updated?

Washington State Department of Health states: "Shellfish in both recreational and commercial harvest areas are routinely tested for biotoxins." That is the cadence to plan around. For the situation today, the agency's own page and phone line are the answer.

What Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program is reporting today, reproduced as issued, and when blooms normally happen on this coast.

Washington closures can happen in any month: Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program publishes no fixed bloom season

Agency season

None published

Monitored by

Live agency feeds

Link only

Washington bloom status at a glance

Agency directory

Today

Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program says closures can happen at any time of year and publishes no season window for Washington, so the bar spans the whole calendar.

None reported

highest category reported

published by the agencies below

agencies that publish status

each linked below

Year round

when closures can happen

closures can happen in any month

organisms monitored

Alexandrium, Pseudo-nitzschia, Dinophysis

DOH publishes no bloom season for Washington. It names warm temperatures, sunlight and nutrient rich water as the drivers, then says levels can rise quickly, stay high, and drop just as quickly. Biotoxin here does not run on a calendar, which is why the DOH map and the 24 hour line are what to check.

Live, as issued

What the agencies are reporting in Washington right now

Every value below is reproduced from the agency that issued it, exactly as that agency wrote it, with the time attached. On a health subject the official category is the answer, and it can change from one sampling site to the next a few miles down the same coast.

Every status below is the issuing agency’s own, with the agency named and the time attached. Whether a beach is open, whether shellfish can be harvested, and any health question are answered by the agency listed for your state. If you are having trouble breathing, call a doctor.

Current Washington status is published by Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program on its own site. It and the other agencies listed further down are where to check before you go.

Season

When blooms normally happen in Washington

Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program publishes no fixed bloom season for Washington: a closure here can appear in any month of the year. What the agency does publish is below, in its own words.

“A combination of warm temperatures, sunlight, and nutrient-rich waters can cause rapid plankton reproduction, or blooms.”Washington State Department of Health, source

DOH publishes no Washington bloom season, and closures here happen year round, including in winter. The season bar on this page spans the whole calendar for that reason.

How often the agency samples

“Shellfish in both recreational and commercial harvest areas are routinely tested for biotoxins.”Washington State Department of Health, source

Hundreds of dead fish scattered along the wrack line of a long empty sand beach, running away to the horizon — A harmful algal bloom fish kill on the Gulf coast, photographed by the National Park Service at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas. FWC associates possible fish kills with its low category, more than 10,000 cells per litre, and probable fish kills from its medium category upward. Dead fish on the sand are one of the most reliable signs available to someone standing on a beach. “Marine Harmful Algal Bloom - Fish Kill” — National Park Service — Public domain

In the agency’s own words

The sentence Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program most wants you to read

Reproduced verbatim, in the agency’s own words.

“They can rise quickly and remain high for long periods of time, and they can drop just as quickly to safe levels.”Washington State Department of Health, source

Where it concentrates

Which part of the Washington coast, and what you would notice

What people actually notice

The DOH map and the 24 hour line rather than the water, since none of the three toxins Washington monitors changes how shellfish look, smell or taste
A closure in winter, which happens here and is why Washington has no fixed bloom season
A closure that names one species or one beach and not its neighbour, which is normal on a coast this indented
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning specifically, which Washington monitors and publishes and most states do not

Beaches worth checking the status for

Long Beach Peninsula and Willapa Bay

Pacific County. The state’s largest recreational razor clam and oyster area, and the one whose DOH biotoxin status is checked most often.

Twin Harbors and Grays Harbor

Grays Harbor County. A razor clam coast where DOH closures have repeatedly cancelled announced dig days at short notice.

Kalaloch and the Olympic coast

Jefferson County. Remote outer coast beaches where DOH biotoxin status still applies and where nothing about the water gives it away.

Hood Canal

Mason, Kitsap and Jefferson Counties. A long narrow fjord with heavy recreational oyster and clam harvest and its own distinct closure pattern.

Penn Cove and Whidbey Island

Island County. A Puget Sound mussel growing area where DOH biotoxin status is tracked separately from the outer coast.

A man in chest waders standing knee deep in the surf, filling a sample bottle with seawater — Coastal water sampling, photographed for the US Environmental Protection Agency at Grand Isle State Park in Louisiana. Every category on this page starts as a bottle of water like this one. FWC’s statewide counts come from routine monitoring, event response and partner sampling, which is why coverage is uneven and why an unsampled county is a gap in sampling rather than a statement about its water. “June 4, Collecting water for testing at Grand Isle State Park, La” — U.S. EPA (photo by Eric Vance) — Public domain

Shellfish closures

Washington shellfish harvest closures

Shellfish harvest closures

Harvest closures are legal orders issued by a state health or agriculture department, and they change without warning. The current closure status is published by the agency below. Check it directly, every time, on the day you are going.

Washington is the state in this set where the shellfish question is the whole question. There is no beach swimming advisory system here comparable to Florida’s, and DOH itself notes that biotoxin levels can rise quickly, stay high for long periods, and drop just as quickly.

Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program · Official closure information · 800-562-5632

A posted algae advisory sign on a Lake Erie beach in Ohio, with an orange warning placard reading that high levels of algal toxins have been detected — A posted advisory on a Lake Erie beach in Ohio, carrying an orange placard reading “high levels of algal toxins have been detected”. Different lake and a different organism from Florida red tide, but the principle is the one that matters everywhere: the sign in front of you was put there by people who looked at that specific water today, and it outranks anything on a screen, including this page. “Algae warning sign (16832101051)” by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, CC BY-SA 2.0

Who to ask

Who to contact in Washington

Health questions, whether a specific beach is open, and anything to do with harvesting are answered by these agencies. Each is linked, with a phone number where one is published.

Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program

Owns recreational and commercial biotoxin closures for the whole Washington coast and Puget Sound, and publishes the Shellfish Safety Map the public checks. DOH is the only authority on whether a beach is open for harvest.

Routine testing of both recreational and commercial harvest areas. DOH publishes no fixed update schedule, so check the map or the 24 hour line rather than assuming a cadence.

Official page · 800-562-5632

DOH 24 hour Shellfish Safety Hotline

A recorded line carrying current shellfish biotoxin closures, available at any hour. Washington closures can be posted at any time of year, which makes a 24 hour recorded line more useful here than anywhere else on these pages.

Official page · 800-562-5632

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Publicises emergency harvest closures on its alerts pages, alongside the DOH biotoxin map. Between them they cover the two different reasons a Washington beach can be shut on a given weekend.

Official page

What each organism here does

Alexandrium, the dinoflagellate behind paralytic shellfish poisoning. Produces saxitoxins, which agencies associate with paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Pseudo-nitzschia, a group of marine diatoms. Produces domoic acid, which agencies associate with amnesic shellfish poisoning.
Dinophysis, the dinoflagellate behind diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. Produces okadaic acid and related toxins, which agencies associate with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, which Washington is one of very few states to monitor and publish.

Common questions

Washington red tide FAQ

Is there red tide in Washington right now?

Is there a red tide season in Washington?

Washington State Department of Health publishes no fixed season. It states: "A combination of warm temperatures, sunlight, and nutrient-rich waters can cause rapid plankton reproduction, or blooms." DOH publishes no Washington bloom season, and closures here happen year round, including in winter. The season bar on this page spans the whole calendar for that reason. Practically, that means a closure in Washington can appear in any month of the year and the calendar is not a useful filter here.

Can you swim during a red tide in Washington?

Washington State Department of Health publishes this wording: "They can rise quickly and remain high for long periods of time, and they can drop just as quickly to safe levels." That is the agency's sentence, quoted, and the agency is the authority. Whether a particular spot is open on a particular day is decided by the people posting signs at the access point, who looked at that specific water today.

Who monitors harmful algal blooms in Washington?

Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program, DOH 24 hour Shellfish Safety Hotline, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program routine testing of both recreational and commercial harvest areas. DOH publishes no fixed update schedule, so check the map or the 24 hour line rather than assuming a cadence.. Each of them is linked on this page, with a phone number where one is published.

Does clear water mean there is no bloom in Washington?

Is it safe to eat shellfish from Washington during a bloom?

Harvest closures are legal orders issued by Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program, they change without warning, and getting one wrong is a hospital matter. Check Washington State Department of Health, Biotoxin Program directly, on the day, every time. Washington is the state in this set where the shellfish question is the whole question. There is no beach swimming advisory system here comparable to Florida’s, and DOH itself notes that biotoxin levels can rise quickly, stay high for long periods, and drop just as quickly.

Does a quiet year mean blooms are over in Washington?

No. Washington State Department of Health's own framing is that these are recurring events rather than one-off ones, and the monitoring programmes behind them run whether or not there is anything to find. A season with little to report is a normal part of the pattern rather than the end of it, which is why this page leads with when blooms normally happen and only then shows what is being reported today.

How often is the Washington status updated?

What is the difference between red tide and blue-green algae?

Red tide means a marine bloom, in the Gulf of Mexico usually Karenia brevis, which produces brevetoxins and causes respiratory irritation carried in sea spray. Blue-green algae means freshwater cyanobacteria such as Microcystis, which bloom in lakes and slow rivers and produce a different family of toxins. Different organisms, different water, different monitoring programmes, and a status for one says nothing about the other. This page covers PSP, domoic acid and DSP biotoxins.

Plan the rest of the trip

More for a Washington coast day

Washington beach conditionsRip current and swim risk from the NWS surf zone forecast. A different hazard, a different agency, the same beach.Washington mosquito forecastCoastal marsh and dune ponds are mosquito habitat, and evening at the water is prime biting time.Red tide across the countryEvery state with a monitored bloom, which agency publishes it, and what they are reporting now.

Red tide and algal blooms in other states

Season windows are climatological typicals drawn from the agency quotations above, not forecasts. Whether a beach is open and whether shellfish can be harvested are answered by the agencies named above. National picture: red tide and algal bloom status across the country →
Hero image: “2018 Fort De Soto - South Beach” by Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0