Humboldt Bay is one of the only places left on the West Coast where oyster seed can be grown and shipped across state and international lines, a distinction that has become the backbone of the region’s shellfish economy. Local growers say the bay’s rare disease‑free status is what keeps the industry alive as climate change, ocean acidification and fast‑moving pathogens reshape oyster farming from California to Alaska.“It’s kind of a hidden gem, Humboldt Bay,” Justin Mojonnier, the director of science and technology for Hog Island Oyster Company, said of Humboldt Bay’s importance in the oyster and shellfish industry. “People don’t really realize it, but we’re a huge shellfish nursery; we produce a ton of shellfish seed out of this bay, we have a long history of producing shellfish seed out of this bay. It’s a really big part of the whole West Coast industry. I think last year we produced over 400 million shellfish seeds, so that’s both oysters and Manila clams. A big chunk of the West Coast supply chain has lived part of its life in Humboldt Bay, and the only reason that we could do that is the disease-free status.”Hog Island entered the hatchery business decades ago after climate‑driven stressors such as warming waters, low pH and ocean acidification made seed unreliable elsewhere. That disease‑free certification is what allows seed to move legally across state lines. It also makes Humboldt Bay one of the only places on the West Coast where an oyster can complete its entire life cycle in the same water.“55%-60% of California’s total oyster production comes out of Humboldt Bay, so it’s not just the seed, it’s not just the nursery, but we were a huge portion of California’s total market-ready shellfish production,” said Mojonnier. “Humboldt Bay is really unique in the way that the bay is, so just its geography and hydrology, we have a ton of mud flats, but we also have a ton of flushing, and this creates a really unique environment where we have a diverse phytoplankton assemblage in the bay, and phytoplankton are what oysters eat. If you go out and you kind of look at an aerial shot of the bay, especially during summer, it’s green, it’s just teeming with life. It’s truly a unique ecosystem.”But growers warn that the system is fragile. Increased vessel traffic from increased ship traffic or proposed industrial projects poses the greatest risk of introducing pathogens like Ostreid herpesvirus-1 (OsHV-1), a highly contagious, viral disease that specifically affects bivalve shellfish, most notably the Pacific oyster.“Any kind of ships coming into the bay is a promise of economic activity. You see it with the heavy lift terminal proposed by the Harbor District, cruise ships coming in, ships, but they’re all a risk or a vector for disease introduction, and that’s a big concern with the shellfish industry,” said Mojonnier. “Ballast water, hull fouling, we don’t control where these ships come from. Once that bell is rung, you can’t unring it.”Terry Sawyer, a founder of Hog Island Oyster Co., said the value of Humboldt Bay’s shellfish industry is far greater than what shows up in state production numbers. Hog Island entered the hatchery business decades ago because climate‑driven stress of warming waters, low pH, and ocean acidification had made oyster seed unreliable across the West Coast.Keep Reading
