HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1040

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                    Fisheries & Wildlife

Title:  An act relating to razor clam hatcheries.

Brief Description:  Requiring the department of fisheries to construct and operate a razor clam hatchery.

Sponsors:  Representatives Riley, King, Kessler, R. Meyers and Springer.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Fisheries & Wildlife, February 16, 1993, DP.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES & WILDLIFE

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 7 members:  Representatives King, Chair; Orr, Vice Chair; Sehlin, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Basich; Chappell; Lemmon; and Scott.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  Signed by 2 members:  Representatives Fuhrman, Ranking Minority Member; and Foreman.

Staff:  Keitlyn Watson (786-7310).

Background:  The Department of Fisheries (WDF) regulates the harvest of razor clams, a shellfish that occurs on the Washington coast.  The recreational harvest of razor clams is a contributor to coastal economies of Pacific and Grays Harbor counties, and occurs on four major beach management areas:  Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks.  Just over 70,000 razor clam licenses were sold by the WDF in 1991.

Razor clams have been plagued by diseases that are harmful to the clam and harmful to humans.  In 1983, the Nuclear Inclusion X (NIX) parasite killed a large number of razor clams.  Domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin produced by a microscopic organism, accumulates in razor clams and can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning to those who eat the clams.  This toxin has been found with increasing frequency in recent years.  These problems have caused the Department of Fisheries and, in the case of domoic acid, the Department of Health to manage razor clams conservatively.

Between 1983 and 1987, the Department of Fisheries operated a pilot razor clam hatchery in Nahcotta.  Budget cuts and technical problems forced its closure in 1987.   

Summary of Bill:  The Department of Fisheries is directed to construct and operate a razor clam hatchery located at or near the Willapa shellfish laboratory on the Long Beach peninsula.  The functions of the hatchery shall be to:

!Grow razor clams for planting;

!Conduct research on NIX and domoic acid;

!Provide information to tourists on razor clams;

!Produce other shellfish species as needed;

!Augment educational programs in the public schools; and

!Make facilities available for university research.

An appropriation of $226,300 is made to the Department of Fisheries from the state building and construction account for the purposes of the act.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Appropriation:  The sum of $226,300 from the state building construction account to the Department of Fisheries.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Razor clams have been decimated by disease in recent years, reducing recreational clamdigging that is a major attractor of tourists to coastal Washington communities dependent on tourism.  A state razor clam hatchery would be a boon to the local economy.  There is historical precedent for such a hatchery, and many people would welcome it.  Although a Department of Fisheries razor clam hatchery was closed permanently in 1987, it was successful, and there is no reason to assume that a new hatchery could not be successful.  Current local attempts to start a private razor clam hatchery are successful.  The Department of Fisheries recreational license fee for digging razor clams was originally proposed to fund clam hatchery production; people continue to pay the fee, but receive no value in exchange.

Testimony Against:  The proposed razor clam hatchery is not in Governor Gardner's budget proposal, so the Department of Fisheries cannot support it.  The failure of the previous state razor clam hatchery casts serious doubt as to whether a new one can succeed. 

Witnesses:  Representative Mike Riley, prime sponsor (pro); Gustave A. Wiegardt, Jr., Pacific County Economic Development Council (pro); Dennis F. Tufts, Nahcotta Shellfish Laboratory, retired (pro); Sue Cudd and Laura Creekman, Wiegardt & Sons Oyster Growers (pro); Dave Hamilton, Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force (pro); Diane M. Ellison, Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force and Columbia Pacific Resource Conservation and Development (pro); and Ed Manary, Department of Fisheries (con).