It's a goofy sounding word, but geoduck (pronounced gooey duck) farming is quickly becoming a serious topic for residents of the Sunshine Coast. Seven applications are currently filed with the B.C. government to begin geoduck farming. Two of these applications involve licensing companies to begin farming on the lower Sunshine Coast, while three additional applications have already been approved for farming near Powell River. Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, is concerned about the lack of information the public is receiving on the topic and the potentially negative impact the farming could have on the environment as well as the quality of life.
"If the public has given consent to this, I'm not sure it is informed consent," Simons said. "In fact, I think these licences have caught a lot of people by surprise." Simons is not the only MLA speaking out on the matter.
Gregor Robertson, MLA for Vancouver-Fairview and member of the committee on sustainable aquaculture, was among those surprised by the provincial government's decision.
"The process had minimal consultation," Robertson said. "Geoducks are among the oldest living animals on earth and those areas are their best habitat. This is a reckless decision with a precious species."
According to Robertson, geoduck farming involves wiping out all existing clams on the seabed, inserting thousands of plastic pipes and a carpet of thick plastic mesh for the farm clams and then using high pressure hoses to blast up the seabed for harvest. "It's anything but low impact," Robertson said. David McCallum, research and development co-coordinator for the B.C. Shellfish Growers Association said research on the test sites shows little environmental impact. "These are a native species. They're not fed. They feed off existing nutrients in the water column. Farming geoducks provides a commodity that is controlled," said McCallum.
According the executive director of Underwater Harvesters Association, Michelle James, harvesting wild geoducks has been taking place for over 30 years. "Studies have been done that show there is no environmental impact on the sea floor as a result of harvesting," said James.Geoduck buzz is just beginning along the Sunshine Coast. Both waterfront property owners and conservationists are among those chiefly concerned. Long-time conservationist and member of the Sunshine Coast Con-servationist Association Rick O'Neill said, "This has come up quite recently and we haven't had a chance as an association to discuss the matter, but certainly it will be of great concern to us." The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is also fuelling the buzz. They recently sent a letter to the provincial government asking for some answers in regards to why the government is approving these licences.
"At this point, we are looking for more information from the provincial government," said SCRD chair Ed Steeves.
Applications pending with the B.C. government involving the Sunshine Coast are as follows: 32.5 hectares between Wilson Creek and Roberts Creek by Discovery Divers and 32.5 hectares between Trail Islands and Wilson Creek by Unity Foods.-with files from Powell River Peak
