Let geoducks stick their necks out

Geoduck farms have begun to alarm some residents along Puget Sound. The objections are so far mainly esthetic, and absent serious environmental problems, geoduck aquaculture should carefully go forward.

These great bivalves were for a long time virtually unused. Few people dug them, and those who did, didn't know what to do with them. Some diced them for chowder, which is like grinding tenderloin of beef to make cheeseburgers.

It was the Chinese who made a delicacy of the long neck and who bid up its price to gourmet levels.

Being favored by the chefs can be hazardous. Shark's fin soup has been no boon for certain Pacific sharks. And until recently, geoducks were harvested, like sharks, entirely from the wild. With demand so strong, probably it is better that they are farmed.

The current method of farming them makes the beach at low tide look like a forest of half-buried white flower pots covered by nets. The "pots" are segments of PVC pipe.

The vista is not attractive to those who like a wild beach, but probably an acre of wine grapes or of hops is not attractive to those who prefer natural land. People get used to it.

Almost all the geoduck farms are on private property, which extends down to the water line at extreme low tide, though the state Department of Natural Resources has put up several tracts of public tidelands for lease.

The DNR says it will use several of its leases to monitor the effects of geoduck growing and harvesting on other sea creatures and plants. It also has a technical team developing a list of scientific studies that need to be done.

If substantial damage is found, and it cannot be mitigated, the farms may have to go. Until proven guilty, Washington's emblematic bivalve must be considered innocent.