The state Department of Health is closing one commercial shellfish harvesting area in Puget Sound near Allyn in Mason County and has listed 16 others as being “threatened” by increasing pollutants.

Those 16 areas are down from 2008 when 17 areas were listed. Samish Bay is included on the list of 16 areas.

Bill Dewey, spokesman for Taylor Shellfish, said that his company was growing and harvesting in that area and the announcement was disappointing but not unexpected.

“It’s a pretty big portion of a valuable farm and long, historic growing area,” Dewey said.

Dewey said he was hoping to negotiate a voluntary closure, which would require fewer administrative requirements in Mason County. Now the county will be required to form a shellfish protection district.

Dewey said the “threatened” status on Samish Bay is disappointing, because it was taken off that list for the first time in years in 2008.

The Department of Health said the list is a slight improvement over 2008, but some areas are “on the verge of closure.”

Each year, the agency reviews water quality and pollution in 102 commercial shellfish harvesting areas. Areas that don’t meet public health standards must be closed, while others that have increased pollutant levels are listed as “threatened.”

Dewey said the pollution is largely preventable through maintenance of septic systems and picking up pet waste, and said cities and people need to focus more resources on fixing the problem.

“It’s just a death by a million cuts out there,” Dewey said. “We’ve just got a lot of sources of pollution, and we need people to address it.”