Our mission is to protect the habitat of Puget Sound tidelands from the underregulated expansion of new and intensive shellfish aquaculture methods. These methods were never anticipated when the Shoreline Management Act was passed. They are transforming the natural tideland ecosystems in Puget Sound and are resulting in a fractured shoreline habitat. In South Puget Sound much of this has been done with few if any meaningful shoreline permits and with limited public input. It is exactly what the Shoreline Management Act was intended to prevent.

Get involved and contact your elected officials to let them you do not support aquaculture's industrial transformation of Puget Sound's tidelands.

Governor Inslee:

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Imidacloprid: DOE Quietly Approves Spraying of 1,500 Acres in Willapa Bay

EPA: “There are a number of uncertainties
related to the proposed use of Imidacloprid
on oyster beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor"


With little fanfare the Department of Ecology has issued a permit which will allow the application of imidacloprid, beginning May 16. Banned in the European Union the DOE announced:

The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) has issued a new individual permit to regulate the use of imidacloprid for management of burrowing shrimp on commercial oyster and clam beds in Willapa bay and Grays Harbor, a surface water of Washington State. Permit development was requested by the Willapa/Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association (WGHOGA) to control burrowing shrimp on commercial oyster and clam beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor to aid in the cultivation and harvest of oysters and clams. Additionally, the applicant has applied for a Sediment Impact Zone (SIZ) as the proposed discharge will likely impact sediment quality on sediments where the pesticide is applied.

A letter to the White House dated November 24, 2014 and signed by 108 individuals states:
The 108 signers of this letter therefore urge you to take immediate action to protect bees and other pollinators, particularly from pesticides known to be harmful.
 

Whole Foods has issued a Quality Standards document for shellfish sold in their outlets which does not permit the use of synthetic pesticides.
 
The European Union has banned the use of imidacloprid. US Fish and Wildlife will no longer allow its use on its wildlife refuges. The City of Portland has issued an immediate ban on its use. Lowe's will phase out the sale of imidacloprid.

Read "Are your oysters sprayed with pesticides?" in which writes of a happenstance meeting in the Tabard Inn in Washington DC with a Willapa Bay resident.

Politics pays and the shellfish industry pays a lot. The shellfish industry's law firm Plauche and Carr sponsored a "risk assessment" by Compliance Services International to promote the use of this pesticide in Willapa Bay.
 
Get involved. Willapa Bay oyster and clam growers are transforming a marine habitat with pesticides and herbicides for their economic benefit. Tell your seafood outlet you will not buy oysters grown in Willapa Bay.
Posted by Protect Our Shoreline at 8:05 PM
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