Not true. Taylor Shellfish announced they would not spray imidacloprid. Other growers have not stated they wouldn't spray. Also, oyster farmers have been spray other toxins for years.

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/05/oyster-victory-but-there-is-more-left.html

Keta:

Not going to get into a "pissing match" but?????

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/break...ml?id=302305051

That's what I was using for my comments....

Have a good day.....

Not looking for a pissing match and didn't intend to be confrontational. I just wanted to put up the details and most relevant information for people to see.

My concern, some of the clam diggers, north of the area are seeing no sand shrimp.....where there has been thousands.

Thinking, someone in DOE is not going to be answering phone calls....these kinds of things can be a career ending decision.

Then the State will close all clamming to non-indian and decrease the limit on Dungeness.

In return the tribes will agree to open area 10 with a quota of 500 Chinook.

Modern science...

They've been spraying Sevin (tradename) for many years in WB. I've been told the trout fishing was much better before the oysterman started the practice. So there's something to hopefully look forward to now that they have apparently stopped:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Ecolo...-302353931.html

It was always hypocritical for them to spray that stuff while pretending to be envirofriendly with the enviromentalists. I'm glad the dirty little secret finally "grew some legs" in the news media.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Ecolo...-302353931.html

I was informed about the good news on my long drive back home earlier this evening. Was hoping to post a link to the news release, but I see you beat me to it.

Thanks for the link

"State, oysters growers opt not to use pesticide", front page of the "The News Tribune".

DOE has cancelled permits to spray two areas. "Research "clearly indicate that effects and damages will not be limited to the treatment sites," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added.

There are economically viable methods available to grow oysters above soft substrate - tumble bags, line culture, racks, etc. - that would eliminate the need for spraying for shrimp entirely. Substrate enhancement is also an option in some situations, bringing gravel and sand in to firm up the substrate. Much more expensive to apply those techniques at such a large scale though. More labor, more equipment, more maintenance. I'm guessing we will probably see more of that down there though. Price of oysters might go up a bit, but the quality will be better. The industry will adapt.

Wondering how the food base for juvenile salmon will respond...diet of juvenile salmon in the estuary includes gammarids, copepods, and other shrimpy critters likely impacted by the spraying. Those my may rebound. Might see an increase in salmon and steelhead as a result...

I quit pumping my own shrimp more than five years ago due to lack of shrimp on the beachs north of grays harbor and took to buying or substituting other baits. I wonder how this affects the overall perch populations on the beachs. I always wondered if the ocean acidification was the culprit but did not know about the spraying programs in the two bays.......Since we have extensive shell fish operations in Puget Sound and the Hood Canal, could spraying operations in those area's be causing our poor salmon and steelhead returns? As milt roe says, there are other ways to grow oysters, maybe its time. Even the mud can be improved if needed with gravel etc.

"They managed them till they were gone"

Worked for salmon, worked for sturgeon, worked for steelhead. Whyc shouldn't it work for other things, too?

"Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we're now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day ."

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/