UKDIVING TRAVELSPECIAL
Chimera or ratfish at Alki Beach
Washington’ s oyster reefs
Topside, we were surrounded by the breathtaking natural scenery of the Olympia National Park and its wildlife. A posse of twenty-odd seals hauled out on the pontoon opposite our room every morning; a bald eagle regularly visited to enjoy its breakfast; bird sightings included kingfishers, herons, Pacific loons and several duck species.
Coastal Washington is famous for shellfish, particularly oysters. At the Hama Hama Oyster Saloon, we enjoyed them both roasted and natural, together with some local beverages, in the relative comfort of a heated tent. You can also harvest your own if you have a visitor’ s shellfish licence. Washington State Fisheries & Wildlife have strict rules to maintain the shellfish beds as
Bald eagle carrying fish
a safe and sustainable natural resource; the oysters are so thick you can literally pick them up off the beach.
Witnessing and participating in this care for environmental management was a thought-provoking experience. The impact of effective conservation is starkly visible
to us as divers: in Washington, the thriving oyster reefs create an extraordinary underwater landscape and improve water quality and clarity. Also striking was the sheer biomass we observed, including the vast numbers of large fish, compared to what we are used to in the UK. Fishing in the Hood Canal is heavily restricted, with rights controlled by the indigenous community using traditional methods and no trawling or dredging. We were left pondering: is this what the UK once looked like underwater – and could it perhaps again? �
Rock crab among oysters, Hood Canal
Essentials
GETTING THERE: The closest international airports are Portland or Seattle, served by most major airlines. If diving self-guided, a hire car is essential; Hood Canal is about 3.5 hours drive from Portland and two hours from the south Seattle area.
DIVE CENTRE: We used YSS Dive( yssdive. com) in Hoodsport for kit hire and fill. They offer excellent value, amazing service, and a wealth of local knowledge.
ACCOMMODATION: We split our stay between two locations: The Glen Hotel( theglenresort. com) a few miles north of Hoodsport, offers large comfortable rooms with canal views and a communal hot tub. They are geared towards divers, with a drying room available. Staying here gets you a deal for diving at Sund Rock as well as discounts at YSS. For the second half of the week, we headed about 30 minutes further north to Mike’ s Beach Resort, mikesbeachresort. com More secluded and remote, Mike’ s offers individual waterfront cabins with firepit BBQ and private hot tub. They are also well setup to host divers, with a kitting-up area by the pier and in-house compressor.
FURTHER READING: Lamb, A & Hanby, B P.( 2005) Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing, BC. This was an excellent guide to all the exciting new species we saw, although a somewhat weighty tome. We spent an afternoon driving around all the bookshops of Seattle to find a copy! Online version available at knowbc. com / marine
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