Shellfish Wet Storage

All shellfish wet storage activities require a detailed Wet Storage Plan of Operations (Word). The plan must be submitted and approved by the Department of Health prior to beginning any wet storage activity.

Types of Shellfish Wet Storage

• Wet storage in a growing area is the temporary storage of harvested (bagged and tagged) shellstock that was moved from the original harvest site to another approved or conditionally approved growing area. The temporary storage site is listed as a wet storage site on your Harvest Site Certificate issued by the Department of Health. Sink floats are considered types of wet storage.
• Onshore wet storage in a flow through system using growing area water. This requires a Wet Storage Permit and an inspection and approval prior to use by the Department of Health.
• Onshore wet storage in a land based re-circulating tank system which uses either manmade artificial seawater using approved food grade chemicals or growing area water from a conditionally approved or approved area in open status. This requires a Wet Storage Permit, an inspection and approval prior to use by the Department of Health, and a validation study showing that the system has adequate disinfection and will consistently produce water with no detectable levels of total coliform bacteria according to procedures outlined in the guide by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP), FDA.

Onshore Wet Storage Requirements

Each onshore wet storage facility (re-circulating and flow-through) shall meet the following design, construction, and operating requirements. These requirements will be reviewed during the required preoperational inspection.

• Effective barriers shall be provided to prevent entry of birds, animals, and vermin into the area. This shall be accomplished by locating the system inside a building, structure, or by installing covers on the tanks.
• When the system is located inside a building: floors, walls, and ceilings shall be constructed, and lighting, plumbing, and sewage disposal systems shall be installed to comply with applicable regulations and requirements. When tank covers are used, they shall be constructed of a light colored material to reflect light and shall seal to the tank closely enough to prevent entry of birds, animals, or vermin. Tank covers shall remain closed on the tanks at all times the system is operating, except when product is being loaded or unloaded or for cleaning.
• Storage tanks and related plumbing shall be made of safe materials and shall be easy to clean. Tanks shall be constructed so as to be easily accessible for cleaning and inspection, to be self-draining, and to meet food-contact surface requirements (smooth, light color, durable, easy to clean, solid, and will not scour, pit, or deteriorate under normal use and cleaning).
• Storage tank design, dimensions and construction are such that adequate clearance between shellfish and the tank bottom shall be maintained. Shellfish containers shall be of construction which allows water flow to all shellfish in the container.
• Wet storage water shall be potable or from a growing area source that does not negatively affect the sanitary quality of the stored shellfish.
• Salt added to increase the salinity or to produce synthetic seawater shall be free of any levels of poisonous or harmful substances that may contaminate the shellfish.

Recording Keeping

If more than one harvested lot of shellfish is being held in wet storage at the same time, the identity of each harvest lot shall be maintained throughout the wet storage process.

Records must be kept for each lot of shellfish that which includes species, original harvest location, original and final harvest dates, and quantity of shellfish.

If the operation receives and wet stores shellstock, the tags need to indicate the additional following information to the requirements in the guide from the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP), FDA.

• Original harvest date and the date it was removed from wet storage.
• A “W” at the beginning of the lot number, designating that this product was wet stored.

More Resources

WAC 246-282-042, Wet Storage Permit

Wet Storage Plan of Operations (Word)