Washington Shellfish Fee Assessment

Washington commercial shellfish farms produce oysters, clams, geoduck, and mussels.

Balancing regulatory cost recovery with a resiliant commercial shellfish industry

Washington’s commercial shellfish fees had not kept pace with program costs. When the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) proposed a full-cost-recovery schedule that would have significantly raised fees, shellfish producers and Tribal governments raised concerns about the effect on smaller operations. The Legislature called for an independent review of DOH’s commercial shellfish regulatory program.

DOH engaged us to assess program costs, fees, and options to reduce impacts on small businesses. We reviewed program costs and fee data, interviewed producers and Tribal representatives, compared Washington’s fees with those in six other shellfish-producing states, and led a LEAN workshop with DOH staff. Our analysis found that the industry contributes $416 million annually to Washington’s economy and that biotoxin testing would account for 42 percent of proposed base fees. None of the other states we reviewed charges producers directly for biotoxin testing.

We recommended that the state adopt the proposed licensing-fee increases, remove biotoxin testing costs from the fee structure, and fund biotoxin testing separately as a public good. We also recommended lower-cost testing methods, inflation-indexed fees, and regular updates to the fee analysis to reflect current program costs.

Update: In 2026, the Washington Legislature capped commercial shellfish fees and directed DOH to develop alternative licensing and fee structures that ease the strain on small commercial shellfish businesses.

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To learn more, read our commentary Why Biotoxin Testing Is a Public Good or view the Shellfish Fee Assessment Final Report (PDF).