DABOB BAY — A Poulsbo man who organized volunteers to save thousands of oysters that washed up on Zelatched Point last month has written a letter to the governor saying that he fears that there is more damage to the shoreline of Dabob Bay than had been discovered.
Gary Jackson, who owns a cabin near Dabob Bay, blames a litter of thousands of oysters on the beach on an oversized wake generated by a Navy vessel that was conducting maneuvers in Dabob Bay on Aug. 11.
During the ship’s maneuvers, high waves filled his 12-foot aluminum boat first with water, then with oysters, Jackson said.
He began noticing oysters that had washed up to the mid-tide line the following day.
“Most showed up a few days later,” he said.
He checked the oysters daily, he said, thinking that, since they were covered by water during higher tides, they would live.
But by Aug. 24, “when it was obvious that they weren’t going to survive, that’s when I called friends and neighbors” to help move them lower on the shoreline.
“The ones that were still alive, we carried into the low-tide areas,” he said, estimating that some seven or eight volunteers, working for two days, moved between 7,000 and 10,000 oysters.
A larger contingent of volunteers moved oysters that had been washed up Aug. 11 on the Scenic Beach State Park shoreline in Kitsap County, and residents there also pointed to the Navy ship maneuvers.
Scenic Beach is in a populated area, with “lots of visibility,” Jackson said.
“Most of the Dabob beaches are uninhabited and are accessible only by water,” he said.
“My concern is that a lot of other beaches could have been affected by this, that the damage is probably greater than what is being acknowledged.”
The Navy is investigating the incident and a report from the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps is expected within a month, said public affairs officer Sarah Self-Kyler.
Self-Kyler said that the USS Port Royal, a 567-foot guided missile cruiser, spent two days in Dabob Bay conducting exercises in the area that is designated as part of the Keyport testing range.
The ship had participated in this year’s Seafair activities and was on its way to its home port in Hawaii, she said.
During this time, the ship “did not do anything out of the ordinary” and “conducted exercises within the normal range of activity,” Self-Kyler said.
“I don’t know exactly when the report will be released or what it will contain,” Self-Kyler said. “But if the Navy is responsible, it will take responsibility.
“We always do the right thing.
“If it is not responsible, it will make recommendations.”
Meanwhile, Jackson has sent a letter to Gov, Chris Gregoire requesting that the state perform a thorough analysis of the ecological and economic impact of this event.
He said he “would also hope that the Navy will review the activities that occurred that day and possible ways to prevent or reduce this type of problem.”
He told the governor that he “was not a tree hugger whining about the loss of a few oysters [but] a concerned citizen who feels compelled to bring to your attention something that needs quick and thorough attention.
“The possible ecological and economic loss to the state, in my opinion is greater than what is being reported,” he wrote.
He sent the letter by e-mail on Aug. 22, Jackson said. He said he has received no reply.
Jackson feels the situation was an anomaly, noting that the Navy says it did nothing different than its standard operating procedure.
“The Navy has been extremely cooperative and helpful over the years,” Jackson said.
“I feel that this recent exercise was out of the ordinary and they did not expect this type of results.”
The Navy is following its own procedure.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
