SANDY POINT, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Shellfish harvesting is back open in north Whatcom County.

Whatcom County Health and Community Services announced on Thursday, June 18, that Washington state Department of Health (WADOH) is lifting the biotoxin closure from Sandy Point north to the Canadian border.

The state closed molluscan shellfish harvesting for all Whatcom County beaches in mid-April due to unsafe levels of biotoxins.

But WADOH said those biotoxin levels have now dropped in northern parts of the county, including all areas of Point Roberts, Birch Bay and Drayton Harbor.

Harvesting remains closed south of Sandy Point to the Skagit County border.

Shellfish harvest is limited in the Lummi Nation to tribal members. Visit the Lummi Nation Beach Closures page for the latest harvest information within Lummi Nation.