If you eat shellfish, you might not be aware that there is a debate going on between some commercial growers and some folks who are trying to stop the widespread spraying of the herbicide Imazamox to Japanese eelgrass in Willapa Bay and Puget Sound.
Comments are being taken until March 6 by Kathy.Hamel@ecy.wa.gov at the Department of Ecology. Until January of last year Japanese eelgrass was considered to be a Priority Habitat Species by WDFW who – among many others – oppose this proposal for its use in Puget Sound and opposed its classification as a noxious weed last year.
The most ironic part of this is the problem the shellfish industry is having in Willapa Bay can, in large part, be traced directly to their use of Carbaryl spraying to eliminate Ghost Shrimp whose churning of the sediments kept Japanese eelgrass out of the commercial farms. This function being lost has now created a habitat in these commercial farms which has resulted in their press to allow for Imazamox.
If you are interested in asking DOE to find alternative ways of stopping Japanese Eelgrass and not spraying these chemicals on our food supply, read on. I am republishing this on behalf of the Anderson Island Tidelands Group so you can make an informed decision.
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Dear All–
Our Department of Ecology (DOE) has a permit application pending that would allow spraying of the chemical imazamox to be used to kill Japanese eelgrass (zostera japonica) on commercial shellfish beds in Washington State marine waters.
This link http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/pesticides/eelgrass.html takes you to the DOE page.
This email requests that you make a comment to Kathy Hamel (at link above) stating your opposition to this spray program. The herbicide, imazamox, will kill any zostera japonica that is in the area but will also destroy or maim our native eelgrass zostera marina. Your comments can be as simple as "Don’t spray imazamox" or "Don’t approve this permit application."
You can read about zostera japonica here http://www.wsg.washington.edu/mas/pdfs/Machetal2010ZJWkshopRep.pdf Pages 3 and 4 list some of the laws and regulations already existing that protect japonica. Japonica provides sediment stabilization, nursery and spawning habitat, biodiversity, and is a carbon sink (takes in CO2 and gives off oxygen).
It is also a valuable food source here
http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/103/m103p119.pdf
It provides millions of use days for our migratory birds. Page 125 is notable.
It notes that the invertebrate production provides important foods for fish and waterbirds. Also, on page 125 it states that japonica may be an unusual example of an introduced species that is generally beneficial to major components of an ecosystem.
The shellfish industry is pushing for this spraying–please comment now and say "no spray." Kindly ask your colleagues and contacts to do the same. Contact me with suggestions/comments/questions if you desire.
Thanks!
Regards
Jerry Johannes
Chairman: Anderson Island Tidelands Group