An editorial in today’s The Olympian describes DNR’s recent settlement with shellfish growers for encroachments on state lands as part of DNR’s “obligation to protect the public’s investments.”
In the $417,000 settlement announced on June 23 by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark:
- Shelton-based Taylor Shellfish Farms agreed to pay $225,000 for encroachment on 3.1 acres of tidelands along North Bay near Allyn.
- Olympia-based Seattle Shellfish company agreed to pay $75,000 for encroachment at Arcadia Point on Case Inlet and Arcadia Point.
- Seafood of Shelton agreed to pay $117,000 for trespassing at Arcadia Point.
The Olympian editorial today also said, “It’s imperative that DNR officials and shellfish growers be as precise as possible because trespassing on state lands robs resources from the general public.”
The settlement amounts include fines as well as the leasing value of the lands over the past few years. The three companies in the recent settlement agreed to stop growing shellfish in those areas without a lease but are allowed to harvest the geoducks, clams and oysters they had already planted.
DNR administers more than 140 leases to firms for the rights to grow and harvest oysters, mussels, clams and other products on 2,329 acres of state tidelands.
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