WA SB5322

Washington Department of Agriculture will administer an integrated pest management research program to address burrowing shrimp impacts on bottom culture shellfish farming in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, subject to appropriated funding

Shellfish growers lost their primary pest control tool in 2014 when carbaryl was phased out and a permit for imidacloprid was denied by the Department of Ecology, leaving no effective control method since a 1963 collaboration with Fish and Wildlife

A governing board will oversee the program, consisting of representatives from six state agencies, five shellfish growers, two processors, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, and industry/nonprofit organizations

The program will solicit research proposals from experts in marine biology, agriculture, ecology, and engineering, and provide permitting assistance to growers for identified control methods

All provisions expire July 1, 2035