Recently, Taylor Shellfish was asked why they were dragging what appeared to be an anchor in areas of Burley Lagoon. An employee from Taylor Shellfish responded that it was a set of chains which was being used in an attempt to uncover oysters which had been covered with silt, which "makes the oysters sink in the mud." He noted it was "a common farm practice." By dragging the chains it "brings the sunken oysters to the surface so we can get them." The employee continued:
It is actually pretty amazing how much fresh mud and silt can move around the lagoon depending on the weather and the tides. Sometimes our oyster patches will get totally covered after a rain storm and/or a big minus tide that creates strong currents.He may have added "dragging chains along the bottom" as a cause of those "amazing" quantities of "fresh mud and silt" being moved around within the enclosed lagoon.
Pierce County may want to consider it when they begin questioning at what point shellfish activities in Burley Lagoon are no longer a "preferred use" of what the Shoreline Management Act considers the most valuable and fragile resource of the state.
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