LITTLE BOSTON — A little more than two weeks since several hundred gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a sunken tug boat in Gamble Bay, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe is continuing to monitor how the incident will affect its natural resources.

The tribe plans on testing the shellfish pulled from its harvesting beds to determine whether the mollusks are safe for human consumption. In the meantime, the tribe has closed the beach to shellfish harvesting by tribal members.

“We are still trying to figure out what impact this spill has had on the natural resources in this area, particularly shellfish,” said Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe chairman Ron Charles. “The tribe relies heavily on the shellfish in this bay not only for income but for subsistence. Tribal members regularly harvest shellfish from Port Gamble Bay for celebrations and to feed their families.”

About 200 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the tug Active, which sank at a mill site across from the tribe’s beach in Gamble Bay. A second tugboat also sank at the site, but no fuel was aboard that vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard is still investigating what caused the two boats to sink.

The leaking fuel left a two-mile sheen, stretching north from the bay toward Driftwood Key and west into Hood Canal the week of Oct. 17. After a week, oil still covered parts of the tribe’s beach and marshland at Point Julia and the smell of diesel was still in the air. Leaks from the tug were plugged after a few days but oil booms continued to surround the sunken vessels.

The tribe has several commercial shellfish beds along the reservation. It also operates a salmon hatchery and salmon net pens on the bay.

“Many tribal members are saddened and angered at this unfortunate event,” Charles said. “This oil spill has jeopardized the livelihood of many tribal members and has impacted our way of life.”