Senate committee hears bill to fund research on burrowing shrimp harming Willapa Bay shellfish farms

Senate staff and shellfish growers told the Washington State Senate Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday that burrowing shrimp infestations have reduced production on Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor shellfish beds and that a new research program could help develop practical control tools.

Jeff Olsen, staff to the committee, told members that Senate Bill 5322 would require the Washington State Department of Agriculture to establish and administer an integrated pest management (IPM) research program focused on burrowing shrimp impacts to bottom-culture shellfish farming. The bill would create a governing board, a Burrowing Shrimp Research account, and includes legislative intent to appropriate $2,000,000 per biennium into the new account. The program, board…