7/30/17
The California Coastal Commission is set to decide on Aug. 10 whether to renew Coast Seafood Company’s existing shellfish farming operations in Humboldt Bay. The company’s permits are set to expire the following day if not renewed.
Commission staff is recommending to extend the company’s nearly 300 acres of existing oyster and clam farming operations in northern Humboldt Bay through Dec. 31.
The proposed extension comes after the commission voted 6-5 to deny the company’s proposal to renew about 230 of its existing aquaculture operations and to expand by another nearly 260 acres. The commissioners who opposed the project were concerned about the size of the project and the potential impacts to sensitive eelgrass beds in the bay and the wildlife that rely on them.
Coastal Commission senior environmental scientist Cassidy Teufel said Saturday that the time extension is to allow the company to submit a revised expansion plan.
