It is interesting to contemplate how the new National Shellfish Initiative, announced in June, and the Washington Shellfish Initiative, announced last week, could change things in Puget Sound.
Kitsap Sun photo by Meegan Reid
As I described in a story I wrote for last Saturday’s Kitsap Sun, the principal goals are these:
- Rebuild native Olympia oyster and pinto abalone populations.
- Increase access to public tidelands for recreational shellfish harvesting.
- Research ways to increase commercial shellfish production without harming the environment.
- Improve permitting at county, state and federal levels.
- Evaluate how well filter-feeding clams and oysters can reduce nitrogen pollution, with possible incentives for private shellfish cultivation.
To read more about the initiatives, check out:
- Washington
Shellfish Initiative,
-
A White paper on the state’s initiative (PDF 176 kb),
- National Marine
Aquaculture Initiative
- National
Aquaculture Policy (PDF 64 kb)
-
National Shellfish Initiative
One of the most encouraging things is an attempt to expand Kitsap County’s Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) Program to other counties, with increased funding for cleaning up the waters. Check out the story I wrote for last Friday’s Kitsap Sun, in which I describe the search-and-destroy mission against bacterial pollution.
As most Water Ways readers know, I’ve been following the ongoing monitoring and cleanup effort by the Kitsap County Health District for years with the help of Keith Grellner, Stuart Whitford, Shawn Ultican and many others in the district’s water quality program. In fact, just two weeks ago, I discussed what could be a turnaround for a chronic pollution problem in Lofall Creek, a problem that has taken much perseverance to resolve. (See Kitsap Sun, Dec. 2.) Unfortunately, the story is far from over.
I’ve talked about the importance of old-fashioned legwork in tracking down pollution, and I’ve suggested that other local governments use some of their stormwater fees or implement such fees for monitoring of their local waters. See Water Ways, June 30, for example.
Water free of fecal pollution has benefits for humans and other aquatic creatures. Thankfully, Washington State Department of Health’s shellfish program is careful about checking areas for signs of sewage before certifying them as safe for shellfish harvesting. Maybe the new shellfish initiative will allow the state to open beds that have been closed for years. That’s what happened in Yukon Harbor, where more than 900 acres of shellfish beds were reopened in 2008. (See Kitsap Sun, Sept. 25, 2008).
Certifying areas as safe for shellfish harvesting means that waterfront property owners are safe to enjoy the bounty of their own beaches. It also offers an opportunity for commercial growers to make money and contribute to the state’s economy.
Of course, this does not mean that intensive shellfish-growing operations ought to be expanded to every clean corner of Puget Sound, any more than large-scale crop farming or timber harvesting should be allowed to take over the entire landscape.
Some environmentalists have expressed concern that the Washington Shellfish Initiative could become a boondoggle for commercial shellfish growers. Laura Hendricks of the Sierra Club’s Marine Ecosystem Campaign sent me an e-mail noting these concerns about the expansion of aquaculture:
“Washington State has more native species listed as endangered than any other state in the USA. We see no mention of the adverse impacts in this initiative on nearshore habitat, birds and juvenile salmon.
“Governor Gregoire and the various speakers failed to mention that ALL of the pending shoreline aquaculture applications they want to ‘streamline’ are for industrial geoduck aquaculture, not oysters. Red tape is not what is delaying these applications…
“Shellfish industry lobbyists who pushed for this expansion are silent on the following three serious threats to our fisheries resources, forage fish, birds and salmon:
“1. Shellfish consume fisheries resources (zooplankton — fish/crab eggs and larvae) according to peer reviewed studies. A DNR study documented that forage fish eggs did not just stay buried high on the beach, but were found in the nearshore water column. Continuing to allow expansion of unnatural high densities of filtering shellfish in the intertidal “nursery,” puts our fisheries resources at risk.
“2. The shellfish growers place tons of plastics into Puget Sound in order to expand aquaculture where it does not naturally grow…
3. Mussel rafts are documented to reduce dissolved oxygen essential for fish and are known in Totten Inlet to be covered in invasive tunicates with beggiatoa bacteria found underneath…”
Ashley Ahearn of KUOW interviewed Laura Hendricks, and you can hear her report on EarthFix.
In her e-mail, Laura recommended the video at right. She also pointed to a blog entry by Alf Hanna of Olympic Peninsula Environmental News. Hanna suggests that environmental advocates who go along with commercial aquaculture may become the oysters that get eaten in Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”
Have intensive shellfish farms in Puget Sound gone too far in their efforts to exploit the natural resources of our beaches? Can shellfish farmers make money without undue damage to the environment? Which practices are acceptable, which ones should be banned, and which areas are appropriate for different types of aquaculture?
It would have been nice if these answers were known long ago, and in some cases they are. But at least this new shellfish initiative recognizes that more research is needed to answer many remaining questions. Research is under way in Washington state on geoduck farming, which involves planting oyster seed in plastic tubes embedded into the beach. Review “Effects of Geoduck Aquaculture on the Environment: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge” (PDF 712 kb) or visit Washington Sea Grant.
Other research in our region is needed as well, although it is clear that environmental trade-offs will be part of the deal whenever commercial interests cross paths with natural systems. For a discussion about this issue, check out the executive summary of the NOAA-funded publication Shellfish Aquaculture and the Environment (PDF 4.2 mb), edited by Sandra E. Shumway.
Needless to say, we’ll be keeping an eye on this process for years to come.
Great work Chris – hope to see more of it in the new year.
Fred
Another thorough piece of journalism, Chris. While I am very skeptical of anything that claims to ‘speed permitting’ (because the only groups slowing permitting seem to be environmental non-profits trying their best to get regulators to not just cave to industry pressure), I do hope that there is some benefit to the Puget Sound ecosystem from all this. I do feel that our governmental officials have good intentions, but there unfortunately seems to be truth to the old maxim that ” the road to Hell is” paved with them, good intentions I mean…
Why was the public not invited to participate in the shellfish initiative? Puget Sound is a public resource, yet here you have an initiative that did not include public input. I see there was Taylor Shellfish and the tribes, the two corporations with arguably the most to gain financially from aquaculture. Also conspicuously not mentioned is the fact that the “permit quagmire” referred to by Taylor’s Bill Dewey is regarding geoduck aquaculture and mussel rafts, and not oysters or restoration. The folks down here in South Sound understand very well that the geoducks and mussel rafts are the two forms of aquaculture that Taylor wants to expand, and we also understand that these two forms of aquaculture are unsightly and cause environmental harm. I, for one, don’t appreciate my tax dollars spent to promote an industry with the lie that it’s good for the environment. If it was so wonderful, why not mention geoduck culture and mussel rafts at the ceremony in Shelton? I’m sorry to say I don’t trust Gov. Gregoire on this and I don’t trust the Department of Commerce (NOAA, Lubchenko) either. Everyone wants clean water and to restore native oysters, but we don’t need a big ceremony at Taylor Shellfish headquarters to do that. This is clearly an attempt by Taylor to undercut the citizens that don’t want aquaculture filling up Puget Sound.
That’s an excellent thought Dan, and one I overlooked. Where was the public in this, except being “represented” by government? While I personally know and have respect for Talyor, they are a business, and like all business, have their own interests at stake, which do overlap on getting clean water. (I run a business too and love to see government take steps to help my industry). But in this case, it’s very worrisome about this “read between the lines” notion of “speeding permitting” as a goal. We of Jefferson County, and by that I mean even the County Commissioners, are currently fighting the State to allow us to do what has already been allowed in other counties, and ban net pen aquaculture. Only the State and the aquaculture industry support continuing this activity, all the local state holders have come out against it. So there is another example of who is controlling things at the state level.