Goodbye Fish and Shellfish? Meet the Biggest Threat to Our Oceans

[Laurabeach1]

5. Ocean Acidification--Genetically Altered Oysters--Is Ocean Acidification The Only Problem?

If the Washington shellfish industry is so worried about their future, why are they then demanding that Japanese eelgrass be eradicated by spraying Imazamox in Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor and Puget Sound? The importance of seagrasses to sequester carbon have been highlighted and scientists in Washington State have opposed this eradication, but the shellfish industry has demanded that the Department of Ecology continue to move forward on a spray permit. Not only does the eradication of Japanese eelgrass threaten the food source for masses of migrating birds and would eliminate documented herring spawning medium, but native eelgrass will also be at risk as it grows in close proximity.

It is even more of a concern that shellfish industry tried to avoid their name being connected with their demand to eradicate Japanese eelgrass by not wanting it to be handled by legislation. So instead, Bill Dewey (Taylor Shellfish Corporate lobbyist) drafted the letter for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to quietly sign that was then sent to Representative Brian Blake that dropped the Japanese eelgrass protection and then the shellfish industry quickly applied for spray permits. The shellfish industry's tactics denied other stakeholders the right of a public process and public hearings so all of the science could be fairly examined and all of the impacts could be openly discussed.

In order to accurately determine the true impacts on non native Pacific oysters of ocean acidification, it should also be pointed out that the shellfish industry aerially sprays tons of Carbaryl and high volumes of Glyphosate and Imazapyr in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor to eradicate native ghost/mud shrimp and Spartina. The genetic fitness of these genetically altered oysters along with chemical stressors should be factored into this discussion. Saving native species should be our primary goal.

Taxpayers deserve all of the facts to be on the table since it is our money funding this research. We need to protect all of the natural aquatic species that provide an important function for an ecosystem that is already in trouble.