On Dec. 9, 2011, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire unveiled the Washington Shellfish Initiative, a new agreement among federal and state agencies, tribes, the shellfish industry, and the restoration community to restore and expand Washington’s shellfish resources to promote shellfish aquaculture and create family-wage jobs.

NOAA announced a $200,000 grant to help the state restore the native Olympia oyster. The state departments of Health and Ecology also will award $1 million to support programs that identify, inspect, and fix failing septic systems to keep pollution out of sensitive habitat areas. Choose the following links for more information:

• NOAA story on the Washington State Initiative
• Washington State press release
• NOAA Science and Shellfish Aquaculture fact sheet
• Northwest Shellfish Aquaculture fact sheet
• NOAA Aquaculture Office 'National Shellfish Initiative' page
• Puget Sound Partnership (white paper & links) 

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