Shellfish farms for companies like Hog Island Oyster Co. in Tomales Bay were cleared to reopen after a sewage spill at a hotel and restaurant near the West Marin waterway earlier this month led to their closure, a spokesperson for the company confirmed Monday.
The sewage spill was reported on Oct. 9 at the Olema House hotel and Due West tavern along state Highway 1 south of Tomales Bay. Marin County officials said in a press release that county environmental health staff discovered a septic system leak into Olema Creek, and the leak was promptly capped.
According to the county, the California Department of Public Health on Oct. 12 closed all shellfish growing areas and wet storage intakes at Tomales Bay until follow-up sampling confirmed bacteria levels had returned to safe levels.
Tomales Bay is famous among oyster lovers and is home to seafood companies like Hog Island Oyster Co., which has locations at San Francisco’s Ferry Building and elsewhere around the Bay Area.
A spokesperson for Hog Island said Monday evening that the company received an email notifying them that the growing areas in Tomales Bay were cleared to open as of this past Sunday at 7 a.m.
Hog Island officials said that after being notified of the leak, the company immediately stopped harvesting and shipping shellfish in Tomales Bay and returned that morning’s harvest into the water, and also withdrew shellfish harvested from its Tomales Bay sites between Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.
Hog Island continued to serve oysters sourced from elsewhere at its restaurants during the closure, and no illnesses were reported to state or local officials, the company said.
