tomales bay

Tomales Bay Oyster Co. Coastal Development Permit Approved

The Coastal Commission unanimously approved the Tomales Bay Oyster Company’s existing shellfish aquaculture operations permit at the August 10th Commission Meeting including conditions to help safeguard eelgrass habitat in the future.

The "conditions provide support for many species in the bay: the coho salmon, brant...” said Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, EAC legal and policy director, “There have been significant declines in shorebirds on Tomales Bay. It’s great that this operator is now in compliance and there are strong protections for habitat and eelgrass.”

Public Interest Criteria Move Forward for CA Aquaculture

As part of our healthy Tomales Bay campaign, we monitor our local aquaculture industry to make sure it’s sustainable and any new leases are located in areas that are not harmful to the environment. . We work to ensure that coastal resources, like eelgrass, species of special concern, endangered and native species, marine mammals, and shore and waterbirds are protected in Tomales Bay and beyond.

This month, the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) Marine Resources Committee will be reviewing new public interest criteria guidelines to use for their review of new aquaculture lease considerations. Essentially, this is a first-step checklist for the Commission to review when a new lease application is received that will help the Commission to make an informed decision whether that lease should be (or should not be) allowed to move forward based on the public’s best interest.

Hydraulic Clamming Pumps Now Banned!

With increases in recreational fishing during the pandemic, here in West Marin we witnessed an increase in clamming and the use of hydraulic pumps. Hydraulic pumps can collect a full day's worth of clams at varying tide levels in just a few minutes and leave behind significant habitat damage. As part of our work to ensure environmentally responsible fisheries, we successfully advocated with partners for an emergency statewide ban of hydraulic pumps for harvesting clams, sand crabs, and shrimp. This spring, we were thrilled when the Fish and Game Commission applied a permanent rule to fully ban the use of these tools for harvesting clams, sand crabs, and shrimp. Our spring Legal and Policy intern, Rachel Clyde, joined our advocacy on this topic, speaking at the Fish and Game Commission meetings in the winter and spring of 2022.

Tell the Fish & Game Commission What Tomales Bay Means to You!

On March 24th, the California Fish and Game’s Marine Resources Committee (MRC) will be discussing aquaculture leasing in California. If you are a member of the public who enjoys Tomales Bay, we need you to send in a note about how you enjoy Tomales Bay (example: fishing, boating, birding, wildlife watching, clamming, kayaking, the protection of environmentally sensitive habitat areas, etc.). Can you send an email to the Commission by Monday, March 21st at 12pm.? Send your email to fgc@fgc.ca.gov. Comments submitted by noon on 3/21 will be provided to the Commissioners the day of the meeting. Thank you to our members and constituents that already sent in comments!

Coastal Act Preserved: CA Assembly Bill 303 Pulled!

We have good news to report! Through our efforts in coordinating a statewide aquaculture coalition of coastal groups, we successfully organized a strategy and succeeded in having the Assembly Natural Resources Committee’s January hearing for California Assembly Bill (AB) 303 (Aquaculture: mariculture production and restoration: pilot program) canceled at the request of the bill author.

Healthy Tomales Bay Campaign Update

Our Healthy Tomales Bay campaign seeks to ensure the sustainability of the competing uses in the Bay, where we monitor the sustainability of recreational and commercial fishing, and help to ensure aquacultural best practices to reduce or eliminate marine debris and avoid impacting sensitive eelgrass habitat vital to declining fish and bird species. This blog post summarizes our 2021 work on this campaign.

Sustainable Aquaculture Updates! 

Sustainable Aquaculture Updates! 

Our work on local and state aquaculture continues, and we have been busy! Last week we organized a joint letter (with nine other NGOs) to the California Fish and Game Commission in advance of the Marine Resources Committee meeting regarding state aquaculture. The letter supports a continued hiatus on the acceptance of any new aquaculture leases as well voicing our collective support for the California Ocean Protection Council’s development of statewide coordinated aquaculture principles and a state aquaculture action plan. We plan to testify at the March 16 Marine Resources Committee meeting, which is open to the public.

California Aquaculture Update focused on Tomales Bay

EAC continues our active engagement in local and state aquaculture issues with our focus on Tomales Bay. In the spring, we participated in two Fish and Game Commission Marine Resources Committee meetings, submitting written comments in advance. In May, we also submitted comments related to a 401 water quality certification application (required by the Clean Water Act) for Hog Island Oyster Company. In addition, we continue to actively monitor legislation including our opposition to problematic state bills, as well as participating in the Ocean Protection Council’s preparation of an aquaculture action plan.

California Coastal Commission's Coastal Development Permit Application Guidance

In July, the California Coastal Commission released a draft of its Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Application Guidance for aquaculture and marine restoration. This guidance is in response to Senate Bill 262, passed into law in October 2019. This bill added a new section to the Public Resources Code requiring the Commission to develop guidance for CDP applicants to help explain the process and enhance efficiency where possible. Comments will be accepted until August 31st, and the final document is expected by the end of the year.

Hog Island Coastal Development Project Approved

Hog Island Oyster Company (Hog Island) submitted a coastal development permit amendment application to the California Coastal Commission (Commission) for four coastal development permits. The application was approved unanimously by the Commission on February 8, 2019. The application included requests to expand shellfish aquaculture operations to 54 acres of state tidelands including the use of new equipment and additional species, approval for after-the-fact permits for cultivation development, and requests for the approval of installation and use of cultivation equipment within Hog Island’s current 25 acres of operations.

Aquaculture BMPs Move Forward

The aquaculture best management practices (BMPs) are moving forward. On October 25th, EAC represented the environmental interest along with a member of our Waters Advisory Committee, participating at an additional stakeholder meeting in Santa Rosa. Then on November 14th, Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, EAC’s Conservation Director, traveled to Sacramento with a member of our Waters Advisory Committee to continue to advocate for BMPs to the Fish and Game Commission’s Marine Resources Committee (MRC).

Tomales Bay Aquaculture & MPA Updates

On March 6th 2018, EAC traveled to Santa Rosa to provide testimony before the Fish and Game Commission's Marine Resources Committee (MRC) on several topics including EAC's Marine Protected Area (MPA) Citizen Science Watch program, aquaculture Best Management Practices (BMPs), the proposed new aquaculture (Brodsky) lease, and future programmatic planning for the Bay. 

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