NOAA Fisheries releases guide to shellfish aquaculture permitting in Washington

NOAA Fisheries has created a guide to the shellfish aquaculture permitting process in Washington State.

This guide is for people interested in learning about the aquaculture permitting processes for growing oysters, mussels, clams, geoduck, or other shellfish commercially in Washington State.

There are eight steps to permitting and some steps may not apply to everyone based on their farm location. The designation of a producer’s proposed onshore aquaculture site on public or private land will determine how they continue in this process.

People who intend to use public land should follow the order of this walkthrough. Step 7 can be done before, during, or after submitting the Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA) form. Step 8, however, must be done after you have submitted your JARPA form.

For private land use, Step 5 is not required. Step 7 must be completed before submitting the JARPA form and Step 8 after submitting the JARPA form. For private land, consider conducting a formal tideland survey and recording it with the applicable local government.

Visit https://bit.ly/3ztEE8C to view the links to the eight steps to acquire a commercial shellfish aquaculture permit.