4" PVC PIPE IS PLACED EVERY SQUARE FEET 1 TO 2 FEET DEEP NETS ARE PLACED OVER THE FARM. OVER 40,000 PIPES PER ACRE.
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The physical and biological impact of high intensity beach farming is HUGE. Each Acre of beach that is farmed results in approximately 12 miles of PVC pipe per acre, plus auxiliary steel, netting and other building materials. The tube farm results in changes in the sunlight exposure to the water column and beach surface.
There are so many unanswered questions with regard to the long term effects of these operations. No Environmental Impact Studies have been required. These farms are generally self-regulated, and on many sites they have not adequately maintained their equipment, nor have they retrieved tubes, netting and rebar that have come loose and washed up on neighboring beaches.
The shellfish companies claims that high intensity farming of the beaches of Puget Sound "cleans" the water. This is a dubious claim. In fact, geoducks remove food from the water column and return the residue as feces into the sand and back to the water column. While the science is sketchy, it appears that the liquifaction of the beach at harvest puts the waste all back into the water column where we believe it can result in over and under growth of both plants and animals and stimulate the growth of algae, which is a major problem leading to oxygen loss and fish kills, as is currently happening in Hood Canal.
Don't be confused, Geoduck commercial farming is big business and big dollars are involved. A few will reap the profits at the expense our environment, and destroy the pristine bays and coves of Puget Sound.
For a step-by-step look at a commercial geoduck farming operation, visit the website of one of our Associate Organizations, Save Our Shoreline.
Save Our Shoreline
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