Garden of the Salish

SeaWhat country is that?U.S.A.?Canada?Hey it’s both!

What is this a map of?

The Salish Sea

..and why are we learning about it?

Because we live along its shores!

Why GARDEN of the Salish Sea?

Marine Marathon• Introduction to Shellfish• Scientific Investigation into Ocean Acidification• Learn how to Identify Clams• Field Trip to Collect Scientific Data• Wrap Up of What We Learned• Salish Sea Challenge

Shellfish are Mollusks

Do they have backbones?

Giant Clam

Purple-Ringed Top SnailBanana Slug

Photo Credits: www.barrierreefaustralia.com,www.divebums.com, www.tixchamy91.blog.com

Why are Shellfish Important?

They keep the water cleanThey provide habitatThey tell us about the pastThey are economically importantThey are nutritious… If…

If we keep the water clean!

Shellfish live all around the world,

Including within the Salish Sea!

Geoduck is the largest burrowing clam, can reach up to 8 pounds and live 150 years.

Manila clams were introduced to the Salish Sea from Japan

Clam larvae have a foot

Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas)Introduced from Japan

Olympia Oyster(Ostrea lurida)

Only native oyster to the Puget Sound and its

populations are threatened

Shellfish tell us about the history of people from the past:

Shellfish Middens are left over shells from people who ate shellfish and disposed of the shells in a pile.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Shellfish also tell us about history of the land:

Hey, that’s the study of paleontology

Fossils are the remains of buried prehistoric animals like shellfish. They record the history of life from about 3.5 billion

years ago.

Photo credit: www.earthhistory.org

Native Culture

Hoe blade Fishing net weights

Shellfish are important in Native-American culture. Coast Salish people have harvested shellfish for food, used shells for tools and in ceremony for thousands of years.

Oysters are reef builders where communities of other organisms grow. This one’s in Germany

Oysters live in the intertidal zone and create oyster reefs

Shellfish are filter feeders, they

breath,eat and clean the water at

the same time!

Photo credit: PCSGA

Each shellfish can

filter 65 gallons a day!

They use their gills!

Shellfish play an important role in the food web

They eat plankton

Shellfish are a source of food for other animals

Shellfish Food Chain:

Shellfish are Nutritious and Delicious!

• High in Protein• Low in fat• Omega -3 fatty

acids• “Brain Food”• Minerals such as

iron and zinc to support healthy blood and immune system

*Some people are allergic to shellfish and should not consume any food containing even a small amount

We are what we eat!

Photo Credit: www.steamykitchen.com

Shellfish industry in the Pacific Northwest brings in an estimated $270 million each year and provides over 3,200 jobs. (NOAA 2102)

Never eat shellfish you

harvested unless you

know its safe!

But shellfish around the world are in danger due to humans…

Carbon dioxide is changing ocean chemistry…

All this CO2 in the water is making my

shell thin!

Hirsch Consulting Services and PSRF - Funded by Whatcom Community Foundation

SPAT WHAT’S THAT?? X

Bacteria from humans and their pets’ poop is getting into the

water…

Fecal coliform bacteria make me sick!

As Salish Sea Stewards, we can help keep our sea healthy and

clean!

We can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions

1 mile driven in a car = about 1 pound of CO2

My shell is nice

and thick!

We can scoop the poop!

Photo Credit: www.realclearscience.com

As stewards of the Salish Sea, we can keep this water

healthy which will keep us healthy! Lets do

this together!