EUREKA -In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Army Corps of engineers has ordered Coast Seafoods to immediately stop all oyster mariculture operations within Humboldt Bay in northern California. Coast Seafoods oyster culture activities include Pacific long line, rack and bag, and bottom culture on Humboldt Bay tidelands. Environmentalists applauded the regulatory action made by the Corps as recognition of the importance of the eelgrass habitat that needs to be protected, and the dangers that oyster culture may be posing to this fragile coastal ecosystem. Coast Seafoods has been farming oysters on public trust tidelands of the state of California in Humboldt Bay since 1950, destroying extensive areas of eelgrass beds that are vital nurseries to many important fisheries, such as dungeoness crab, Herring, rockfish, salmon, and steelhead.

"Coast Seafoods has been getting away with abusing our public Trust resources in Humboldt Bay for too long, at the expense of our fisheries, birds, and other wildlife," said Christine Ambrose of the Environmental Protection Information Center. "It's about time one of the agencies stepped up to the plate and made Coast Seafoods comply with the law." Tim McKay of the Northcoast Environmental Center also expressed relief, "Now there is some hope of getting Coast Seafoods to stop cultivating in the eelgrass beds and impacting them unnecessarily. Now maybe we can get Coast Seafoods to be a better steward in Humboldt Bay".

Coast Seafoods actively operates about 500 acres of aquaculture activities, and maintains a lease with the Harbor Recreation and Conservation District for 4,000 acres. Coast Seafoods will be allowed to retain cultivation of areas currently subject to ongoing research and scientific study by the Western Regional Aquaculture Center (WRAC) and local Mariculture Committee.

For more information and photos, see EPIC's Humboldt Bay page and www.yournec.org.