HomeMy WebLinkAbout012224 Shoreline Master Program--Please Require a Standard CUP for All Geoduck Applications (0002)ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Hello,
My name is Marie Godfrey, and I live on the eastern shore of Discovery Bay.
I support a standard CUP for all geoduck applications because I’m worried about plastics pollution. Each acre of geoducks requires more than 11 tons of plastic--it doesn't matter what
kind, we need to eliminate all plastics in the environment.
Geoduck harvesting is done using high pressure hydraulic techniques that can harm eelgrass, resulting in decreased biodiversity. That can’t be good.
I’m worried about how geoduck aquaculture affects eelgrass used by crabs, herring, young salmon, shorebirds and all kinds of marine life that depend on our tidelands and estuaries.
Each bay and tideland is different. Each site needs to be fully evaluated before a permit is granted. That's what a standard CUP is for.
The public pays the external costs of geoduck farmers' private gain--particularly concerning are the loss of eelgrass beds and the need to remove plastic debris. We should have a say,
at a public hearing, to ensure these costs are borne by those who profit.
As citizens of Jefferson County, we should have the same opportunity to be heard as citizens of Clallam and Kitsap counties where all geoduck proposals must go through the standard CUP
process.
Citizens should have the chance to speak up and be heard before any decision is made on geoduck cultivation. A standard CUP provides that chance and is fair to everyone.
I want permitting decisions to be made by a hearing examiner who does not have back-channel conversations with the shellfish industry that might affect the decision but that I can’t
know about.
We’re not really asking for that much—just a fair process that allows the public to be heard before a geoduck decision is made.
Thank you for your attention.
Marie Godfrey