Fight Over Calif. Oyster Company Splits Chefs And Land Defenders
Fight Over Calif. Oyster Company Splits Chefs And Land Defenders
by Richard Gonzales
June 12, 2014 3:09 AM ET
Drive just an hour and half north of San Francisco and you're in Drakes Estero, or estuary, named for the first English explorer to lay claim to California.
This near-pristine, wind-whipped marine wilderness is a federally protected home for large beds of eelgrass, the base of the marine food chain. The Estero hosts the largest colony of harbor seals on the West Coast, and tens of thousands of resident and migratory birds.
It's also home to the Drakes Bay Oyster Company.
The company plants and harvests about eight million oysters a year, and employs 30 people. Worth an estimated $1.5 million, it's one of the state's largest commercial shellfish operations.
But its future is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Drakes Bay Oyster Co. sits on federal land, and its lease has expired. The oyster company is fighting to stay open, while some environmental groups are pushing back. And the debate is dividing the residents of western Marin County.
More:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/06/12/319069034/fight-over-calif-oyster-company-splits-chefs-and-land-defenders
