The Associated Press
POULSBO — A controversial proposal for a geoduck and oyster farm on Hood Canal is being pulled.
The Kitsap Sun reported that according to Kitsap County planners, Scott Kimmel, the owner of New Day Fisheries, has decided not to pursue permit applications for the project.
The Poulsbo fisherman had been seeking approval for a geoduck farm he installed without permits on private tidelands in 2013.
Kimmel said he didn’t know he needed permits to plant more than 9,000 geoduck seeds in plastic tubes embedded in the sand just north of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.
Nearby residents and some environmental groups complained after the tubes were installed, and Kimmel began to retroactively seek permits.
The newspaper said Kimmel didn’t respond to requests for comment. It said that Kimmel has agreed to remove the existing geoduck tubes.
Geoduck culturing is an emerging industry in the state, with the giant, burrowing clams fetching exorbitant prices in Asia.
Taylor Shellfish Farms of Shelton recently applied to install a 30-acre geoduck farm in Clallam County’s Dungeness Bay.
