PORT ANGELES — Tidelands near John Wayne Marina will be studied and parts of them seeded to create a new Olympia oyster bed in Sequim Bay.
In a 2-1 vote, the commissioners agreed to allow the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee to study a portion of Sequim Bay tidelands, adjacent to the south side of the jetty, and seed it with oysters beginning in 2017.
Commissioners Colleen McAleer and Steve Burke voted in favor of the oyster beds, while Commissioner Connie Beauvais voted against the use of the property.
The oysters would not be harvested.
Oysters at the 7-acre property at Pitship Point Cove cannot be harvested due to its proximity to the marina, and the small native oysters usually do not reach a legally harvestable size, said Jesse Waknitz, port environmental manager.
Native Olympia oysters were harvested to near depletion in previous decades.
The Washington Shellfish Initiative, which former Gov. Chris Gregoire initiated in 2011, aims to restore the native beds as part of an effort to clean Puget Sound.
The goal of the project is to eventually restore 100 acres of habitat for Olympia oysters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, Waknitz said.
Olympia oyster populations are recovering and are not currently a protected species, he said.
The Marine Resources Committee and Jamestown S’Klallam tribe have already seeded an area of the bay on tribal land at the southern end of Sequim Bay.
Waknitz said that, should the port have a need to use the property in the future, the presence of the oysters would not add more permits or processes than currently required.
The Marine Resources Committee will be responsible for studies and permits for the oyster beds, he said.
Beauvais said she had concerns about the project.
“I don’t see the benefit to the port — just a hindrance to what we may need to do,” Beauvais said.
The presence of the native oysters could affect the port’s ability to use that property, and the port gets no mitigation restoration points for the project, she said.
Burke, who voted in favor of the oyster bed restoration, said the project meets the stewardship portion of the port’s strategic plan.
“Sometimes we need to do things that do not benefit us directly,” he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
