Fines warranted if shellfish were farmed illegally

The Olympian • Published July 21, 2008

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If Taylor Shellfish Farms illegally harvested oysters and geoducks from state tidelands in Totten Inlet, the Mason County company should face stiff fines by state regulators.

Taylor is the largest shellfish company in the state. The company, which is based at Taylor Towne, just south of Shelton, farms oysters, clams, mussels and geoducks. The company has about 500 employees and owns or leases about 9,000 acres of tidelands at eight shellfish farms in Totten Inlet, Hood Canal, Willipa Bay, Samish Bay and several other locations.

Company officials have admitted that they seeded and harvested oysters and geoducks from state tideland. They insist the illegal harvests were a mistake.

"This was not an intentional issue," said Bill Dewey, spokesman for Taylor Shellfish.

Laura Hendricks, spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, said it's mind-boggling that a big company didn't realize where it was farming. "It's cheaper to take it and not pay for it," she said.

Dewey plans to meet with officials from the state Department of Natural Resources today to discuss the issue. DNR regulates shellfish harvesting in Washington.

Dewey said preliminary results of a state-ordered survey show that 8 to 10 acres of the company's farming operations are on state tidelands. But critics insist that Taylor secretly converted at least 25 acres of state tidelands into a shellfish farm. They are angry and say the private company likely reaped millions of dollars in revenue from public waters.

Even in the face of strong criticism and a preliminary survey that shows Taylor at fault, Dewey said he doesn't expect a fine from the state because the trespassing was unintentional.

That's an unrealistic expectation. Fines are most certainly warranted. Otherwise what's the deterrent to keep Taylor or others from using public property to reap a profit on future shellfish harvests?

Taylor officials were alerted to the trespassing problem after a complaint was filed with the State Auditor's Office. That led to an inquiry by Department of Natural Resources. State regulators suggested that Taylor hire a surveyor to determine the amount of encroachment and that full report is due this month.

The first order of business is for the state to determine the acreage involved. State officials must determine the harvest levels and establish the value of the illegally harvested shellfish. Finally, state regulators must give strong consideration to the amount of money Taylor generated on the site, then set an appropriate fine.

The state is not blameless in this case, either. At least one landowner complaint against Taylor Shellfish was filed with the Department of Natural Resources more than 10 years ago. Apparently no action was taken until other property owners filed complaints with a state Auditor's Office hot line last year.

If Taylor Shellfish made a mistake, company officials need to own up to the mistake, take responsibility for their actions and make restitution to the public by paying whatever fine is assessed against them. Taylor officials also must make a strong commitment to the public ensuring them that all future shellfish farming will be done in accordance with the law.