Tomales Bay Oyster Company Coastal Development Permit Amendment Approved by Coastal Commission

Charles Friend Oyster Company ( CFOC / Tomales Bay Oyster) submitted a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) amendment application to the California Coastal Commission (Commission) for an after-the-fact development. The CDP amendment was approved unanimously by the Commission on the consent calendar on August 8, 2019 as there were not any objections by the applicant or the public. EAC is generally supportive of the CDP amendment and continues to raise concerns on the prevalence of after-the-fact permit amendments that may set a standard for operators to install and remove unpermitted cultivation without obtaining permits and many times in sensitive habitat areas like eelgrass. The updated Special Conditions will assist to prevent future impacts to sensitive habitats.

EAC will continue to monitor CDP applications working to ensure protection of sensitive habitats like eelgrass and supporting efforts to mark gear to reduce issues with lost aquaculture debris in Tomales Bay.

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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