Taylor Shellfish Asks for Mussel Farm Permit Denial

Taylor Shellfish's attorney  has advised them to ask their permit application for a new mussel farm in Totten Inlet be denied so they may appeal that decision to the Shoreline Hearings Board. Has corporate shellfish aquaculture become the industry fragmenting the shorelines which Shoreline Management Act was passed to control?

Taylor Shellfish's current mussel farm in Totten Inlet.

Oyster bags in Totten Inlet

Taylor Shellfish has asked the Thurston County Hearing Examiner to deny their Substantial Shoreline Development Permit. Rather than supply the examiner with additional information addressing questions about about cumulative impacts shellfish farming is having in Totten Inlet, Taylor Shellfish will instead appeal the denial they are asking for to the Shoreline Hearings Board.
[see Hearing Examiner's options presented to Taylor Shellfish here]

 

After the Hearing Examiner issues his decision, "requests for reconsideration" will be allowed to be submitted within a 10 day period. Was the impact on shoreline residents and wildlife near the "assembly and maintenance" area of the rafts at the "Old Plant" adequately addressed? Will "retaining nets" ensure all the plastic discs which come loose are kept on site? After any "requests for reconsideration" have been addressed the question of whether Taylor Shellfish should be allowed to install 58 mussel rafts at the mouth of Totten Inlet will move to the Shoreline Hearing Board.

When is enough too much?

 

For over 14 years now APHETI (the Association for the Protection of Hammersley, Eld and Totten Inlets) has questioned whether a permit for the installation of a mussel farm of the size and density proposed is correct. As a direct result of their efforts and others (e.g., Case Inlet Shoreline Association "CISA") it is now being asked whether corporate shellfish farming in south Puget Sound has reached a point where the Shoreline Management Act's (SMA) original assumptions of shellfish aquaculture no longer apply.

If you wish to receive email updates from APHETI you may send an email to: APHETI@gmail.com If you wish to help ensure the Shoreline Management Act is applied as intended, both APHETI and CISA are 501(c)3 non-profit organizations.