Re: Lots of Reasons -- Free Cortes Island

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Date Posted: 15:51:34 01/29/08 Tue
Author: Nerdofogus. Rex (reply re noise etc.)
Subject: Re: Lots of Reasons
In reply to: Anonamouse 's message, "Lots of Reasons" on 07:30:00 01/28/08 Mon

"more than enough of Cortes shoreline is already taken up with various oyster leases"

Before we can decide whether too much is taken we need to understand why it was allocated (by the community) in our OCP. The simple answer is local people need earnings and the community needs enough total earnings to support the local economy - stores, restaurants, schools, community halls, fire halls, the medical centre, the ferry, roads, post offices and everything else. Individuals need enough income to pay at least basic living expenses, which includes the things we constantly freek out about whenever they go up. If we had sufficient earnings there would be a lot less problem from rising costs.

The sad thing is we squabble so much among ourselves that our earning opportunities are going off Island instead.

There is a real and serious mismatch between aquaculture and shoreline residences - that we won't solve with petty self interest! We need community solutions that work for everyone.

Rightly or wrongly, a portion of the shore is designated for earnings and growing food.

"and accompanying noise & activity."

For oysters, mussells and scallops grown on rafts this would be a valid concern. Rafts are always visible with little attempt to make them aesthetically pleasing, and there is constant work required to reseed, sort, remove predators, harvest etc.

But almost none of this applies to Geoducks. There is no visibility whatsoever except for occasional inspection to see that all is well. The first time any Geoducks will be harvested is 2015 (seven years from now!) when we can expect perhaps 2-3 weeks of activity followed by a shorter period of reseeding, and then nothing again for another 7 - 10 years.

So what's the myth about 24/7 when 2500 days out of 2555 (7 years) are likely to be peaceful and quiet?

"gas powered water pumps which blast away the sand & sediment"

True. Compare it to the alternative: a shovel makes a hole at least twice as wide as it is deep, which means a huge amount of sand and sediment is displaced and not much, if any, ocean floor remains undisturbed. A jet of water can be directed vertically so the hole is narrow. The result is a LOT less damage.

"this method leaves the ocean floor a virtual desert."

The Malaspina College study in the Gorge was interesting. They ran a camera along the ocean floor and found it to be almost devoid of life. It was indeed like a desert, except when they came to an oyster lease that was described as an oasis abundant with sea life. Hundreds of species were thriving below the dreadful, terrible oyster poop we have been making a fuss about.

I have to wonder how much life there is now 30 feet down. Do we know? Or are we inventing this again?

With at least seven years between harvests, sea life will move in and thrive (if it can) just like weeds taking over an unused back yard. The channel at Squirrel Cove is 4 miles wide and many miles long. That's tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of acres. How many acres was the Geoduck lease?

"every time there is a storm the beach will be littered with plastic netting debris."

Again I wonder if you are dealing with facts or inventing this. The nets we've seen photographed with horror stories that try to make us assume that 1km of beach is the same all along the shore (as opposed to the best we could find to make our case), consisted of anything but Geoduck debris. Much of it wasn't even shellfish debris. The nets looked like the narrow, rigid barriers used on the FOREHSORE to prevent crabs and starfish eating CLAMS, and the foreshore is naturally very susceptible to wave action.

During a storm only the top few feet are turbulent. There is minimal wave activity below that. Geoducks are at least 30' deep. Anyone professionally planning predator nets would take the worst conditions into account. That doesn't mean we'll never see a net washed ashore, but it does mean it is extremely unlikely to be a regular occurrance.

"Who wants loud people with headlights dragging boats and talking loudly 24-7 in front of their beachfront home..."

Headlights means working at night. I doubt it. Why would they incur the extra inconvenience and expense? And I am fairly sure the owner, if we act in a friendly, reasonable manner and thus gain his/her respect, would go an extra mile to reduce noise and inconvenience - quiet mufflers that reduce the need to talk over them, and so on.

An owner we have harrassed may not be so inclined.

*** Jenks Junction is a result of the kind of behaviour you urge us to adopt. ***

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Replies:

That's The Problem ! -- Anonamouse, 12:10:57 01/30/08 Wed
- Re: That's The Problem ! -- Inquiring Mind (Do unto others), 13:18:34 01/30/08 Wed
- Re: That's The Problem ! -- Anonanonanon ((getting closer though)), 09:52:28 01/31/08 Thu