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Shellfish growers warn DOH fee increases could force small farms to close; committee presses agency for alternatives
Summary
At a work session on commercial shellfish fee changes, Department of Health officials said phased fee increases are necessary to reach cost recovery; shellfish growers and tribal and small-farm representatives warned the proposed 2026–2027 increases (examples ranged from several-hundred percent to mid-thousands of dollars for small operators) would be catastrophic for many small producers and urged alternatives, pauses, or general‑fund coverage for biotoxin testing.
Department of Health officials defended a phased set of fee increases for the state's commercial shellfish licensing and certification program at a Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee work session, while shellfish growers and tribal representatives warned the changes threaten small farms and new entrants.
DOH said program costs formerly supplemented by general funds have become unsustainable and that federal sanitary requirements, public-health lab testing and inspection obligations create real operating costs for the licensing and certification program. Lauren Jenks, assistant secretary for environmental public health, said the agency is required to recover fee‑eligible costs and that reductions in general-fund support…
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