On Aug. 14, the Humboldt County Fair hosts Shell-ebration, celebrating all things related to oysters in Humboldt Bay. And there is much to salute. Our region produces most of the oysters consumed in California and a very high percentage of the shellfish seed — some 470 million baby shellfish in 2024 — grown out on the West Coast and beyond. These oysters, and the companies and families who rely on them for their livelihoods, deserve this recognition.There should be a serious parallel debate about whether California should reindustrialize Humboldt Bay or instead direct massive heavy industrial development to already-industrialized Los Angeles Harbor. What we are talking about here is the proposed Samoa Heavy Lift Terminal Project and all of its long-term ramifications.Before colonization, there was a string of major coastal marine estuaries in California that served as home and nursery to seabirds, fish, crabs, clams, oysters — everything that made California’s coastal waters rich with life. These estuaries had many names, more recently known as San Diego Bay, San Pedro Bay, San Francisco Bay, Tomales Bay and Humboldt (Wigi) Bay.I grew up near San Pedro Bay, also known as Los Angeles Harbor. My grandfather and great-uncle were high-seas tuna fishermen. My father ran a marine electronics business in the harbor. During the summers, from elementary school through the end of middle school, I got to go to work with my dad — in shipyards, in Fish Harbor, in yacht marinas and at massive industrial sites throughout L.A. Harbor. In high school, I was employed as a deckhand on working harbor watercraft. I spent most of my young life in and around the water and lived with L.A. Harbor pollution every day, including bay water coated with floating oil and industrial grime, bay water with strange colors and bad odors, pier pilings without even barnacles growing on them and air pollution that made our lungs hurt by late afternoon.Keep Reading
