Humboldt Bay's oyster industry is hoping to expand on its success as a state leader in oyster farming — by encouraging new oyster growers.
The Headwaters Fund recently awarded a $200,000 grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District for a mariculture expansion project. The project is designed to help the oyster farming industry grow within the bay by helping it conduct pre-permitting studies.
Harbor District CEO David Hull said the goal is to find a project that will result in measured expansion, avoiding negative impacts while creating local jobs and expanding a productive industry. He said the proposal was put together after a series of community meetings identified it as a need.
”The entire mariculture industry in Humboldt Bay supports this as well as the shellfish growing associations up and down the coast,” Hull said. “It's a great collaborative effort between a public agency and the shellfish industry — it's just a great win-win kind of a thing.”
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