Proposed geoduck farm on Henderson Inlet tidelands draws opposition from residents

A group of Johnson Point residents are opposing plans for a new commercial shellfish farm on Henderson Inlet, citing environmental concerns.

Taylor Shellfish requested a permit for the proposed aquaculture project in June 2022. The plans involve cultivating geoduck on 3.6 acres within an 8.85-acre tideland west of Johnson Point Loop Northeast, according to county documents.

Some residents have shared worries that the project may harm the environment. Among those with concerns is Ron Smith.

“If this was all an oyster operation, we likely would not be opposing it,” Smith said. “It’s the geoduck that we are opposing because of the methodology of cultivation.”

Smith serves as president of Protect Henderson Inlet, a nonprofit that was founded in December 2022 in response to Taylor Shellfish’s permit application. Since then, Smith said the nonprofit has branched out to other environmental matters, but they remain firmly opposed to geoduck cultivation.

Geoduck are large burrowing clams that are found along the West Coast but mostly farmed in South Puget Sound, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are often exported to countries in east Asia.

Taylor Shellfish leased the tideland in 2018 from Kyle V. Mazanti of Colorado, according to county records.

The property is part of the Bush Act Lands, state-owned aquatic areas that the government allowed to be sold for shellfish cultivation in 1895. There are 46,204 acres of Bush Act Lands in the state, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

How does it work?

In its initial proposal, Taylor Shellfish said geoduck culture would require placing PVC and/or mesh nursery tubes in the tideland substrate on about 1-foot centers. These tubes would extend above the tidelands by about 4-10 inches.

Workers would plant three to four geoducks by hand in each tube. Canopy netting would then be installed over the PVC tubes to protect them from being dislodged, according to the proposal.

After two years, workers would remove the tubes. The geoducks would continue growing for an additional 4-7 years. Harvesting involves using a “hydraulic wand,” or water jet probe, that workers would insert into the tidelands, adjacent to each individual geoduck.

From there, workers would remove the geoduck by hand and transport them to a processing plant, according to the proposal.

If Taylor were to plant 160,000 geoducks per acre, they may expect to produce 32,000 to 40,000 marketable geoduck per acre, according to a U.S. Army Corps 2015 Programmatic Biologic Assessment shared by Taylor Shellfish. The company sells geoduck by the piece on its website for $60.

The Thurston County Environmental Health Division issued a memorandum on June 5, indicating it recommended approval of the project to the Community Planning and Economic Development Department.

Smith said he worries the area will be polluted with microplastics and he has questions about how this activity may affect the genetics of local stocks. He believes more research is needed to understand the full environmental impacts.

“There’s a whole lot of cart before the horse going on here,” Smith said. “There’s a huge amount of industry based on very flimsy claims of safety to the environment.”

In a January document, Taylor Shellfish defended its practices, saying they are regulated by federal, state and local authorities and backed up by a 2013 research report by the Washington Sea Grant.

On the matter of plastics, the company said it uses marine-grade plastics that are designed to maintain their physical integrity.

“Gear is essential for some areas and shellfish specifies, to successfully cultivate, and plastics are the most effective and environmentally responsible material available,” the company said.

Erin Ewald, director of regulatory affairs for Taylor Shellfish, told The Olympian their practices should leave a minimal impact on the environment, and it should return to a natural state in about a week.

“This practice has been analyzed by the services, including NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other organizations,” Ewald said. “The impact to the substrate is generally something that is similar to storm events.”

The initial proposal called for using an additional 3 acres for clam and oyster cultivation, but Ewald said Taylor Shellfish now intends to focus on geoduck cultivation.

Access concerns

David Hall, a retired construction worker, owns property adjacent to the proposed geoduck site. Like others who have commented against the proposal, he worries the farm will affect his beach access and pollute the area with plastics.

“The biggest thing that bothers me are these PVC plastic tubes,” Hall said. “They plant them with a couple inches between them and they’ll fill the whole beach, just fill it up solid.”

Over the past 15 years, Hall has allowed South Sound GREEN, a local watershed education program, to bring children to his beach for field trips. He fears those trips may no longer happen if Taylor Shellfish sets up a geoduck farm.

Stephanie Bishop, program manager for South Sound GREEN, said she doesn’t have a stake in the local permit concerns. However, she said she’s gotten assurances from Taylor Shellfish that they would be supportive of continued trips to the Hall’s beach.

“What I really love about David’s property is that we can really dive into aquaculture, talk about harvest techniques and introduce that as a career option for students,” Bishop said.

“When I talked to representatives from Taylor Shellfish about this in the past, more recently, they were excited about the prospect of sharing their perspective as aquaculture farmers.”

Ewald told The Olympian that Taylor Shellfish is open to showing people around their farms to educate them about their practices.