A proposal to regulate geoduck farming along Pierce County shorelines was revived and reinforced Monday with the unanimous backing of a County Council committee.
The proposed geoduck rules are now set for a second vote by the Pierce County Council sometime in the next few weeks.
Geoducks are the world’s largest burrowing clams. Sold live, they are a delicacy in Asia. For decades, divers have harvested wild geoducks, which are native to Puget Sound.
More recently, growers have pioneered a way to plant and harvest geoducks on beaches. But some waterfront owners and others object.
On Monday, the five members of the council’s community development committee for the second time backed the geoduck restrictions, but deleted a companion set of rules that would have limited the proliferation of marine docks.
The geoduck rules were resurrected after the full council on Aug. 7 defeated what then was a combined geoduck-dock measure. At that time, waterfront property owners complained it was unfair to tie the proposed pier rules to the geoduck restrictions.
Councilman Terry Lee, who represents the Gig Harbor area and originally sponsored both proposals, said he’s willing to pass on the dock issue for the time being.
“We need to move forward with the one that seems to be threatening our environment and property rights,” Lee told about 35 people who attended the hearing.
He pointed out that county officials still have the option of making changes in dock rules as part of a scheduled update of the shoreline master plan, due for completion next year. The dock rules would have set limits on the length of residential piers and encouraged property owners to share them.
At the meeting, committee members beefed up the geoduck proposal by giving county officials clear authority to revoke permission to harvest if growers do not comply with approved timetables for removal of nets and growing tubes. Council members refused to permit weekend seeding and harvesting activities on geoduck farms.
Growers stud beaches with thousands of pieces of plastic tubing to protect young geoducks from predators.
But foes of geoduck farming complain that the litter left behind is a blight on the shoreline.
As proposed, the regulations would ban geoduck farming along densely populated shorelines, such as near Gig Harbor, but permit growers to exploit rural shorelines along the Key Peninsula. The measure requires growers to post a bond of up to $1 per growing tube to guarantee gear collection and removal.
At Monday’s hearing, shellfish growers reiterated past complaints that the county’s regulations are incompatible with their industry and urged officials to let a state-sponsored shellfish advisory committee suggest appropriate oversight, if needed.
“The biggest threat to Puget Sound is not shellfish aquaculture. It’s upland development,” said Peter Downey, who represents the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association and lives in Jefferson County.
Shellfish farming requires clean water, he said. “Keep the bigger picture in mind, please.”
The geoduck rules are supported by the Tahoma Audubon Society, the Tacoma-Pierce County Association of Realtors, the Henderson Bay Shoreline Association and the Case Inlet Shoreline Association, among others.
Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756
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