By STEPHEN MILLER Justin Taylor founded one of the largest shellfish-farming operations in North America and fought to clean up Wash- ington state’s Puget Sound. Mr. Taylor, who died Mon- day at age 90, was a familiar sight to generations of South Puget Sound residents as he trod its expanse to check on his oysters and clams. “Some people climb moun- tains,” Mr. Taylor told the Olympian newspaper in 2007. “I walk mud flats.” His Taylor Shellfish Farms raises a half«dozen varieties of oysters, plus clams, mussels and even giant geoduck clams two feet long that it sends to China and Japan. The company says it has annual revenue of $50 million. A third-generation oyster- man, Mr. Taylor grew up in Shelton, Wash, on the South Sound, where brackish inlets and bays recede to reveal tidal mud flats, perfect habitat for oysters and clams. Industry in Shelton in those days was split between oyster- ing for the canned»oyster mar~ ket and a pulp mill that drew on the region’s ample forests. The mill, which opened in 1927, employed about 400 workers but polluted the wa- ter, poisoning oysters. A de- cades-long confrontation en» sued between pulp workers and oystermen. Unlike oyster- men in other states, those in Washington had long owned their own beds and so had ex- tra incentive to fight for them. Mr. Taylor helped lead the oystermen’s fight, including lawsuits demanding repara- tions after oyster harvests fell by as much as 90%. The native Olympia oysters were nearly wiped out and still haven’t re- covered. The mill was finally closed in 1957 after Washing- ton state refused to grant it a wastewater permit. In the late 19605, Mr. Taylor and a brother established their aquaculture company. They started buying prime oyster grounds and built a hatchery that produced hundreds of mil- lions of oyster larvae. They ex- , panded into clams and mus- ‘ sels, which are grown in bags suspended in the bay. Mr. Taylor’s farming opera- tions coincided with a change in tastes, with raw oysters be- coming his predominant prod uct. Puget Sound oysters be- came so popular that some connoisseurs speak of “mer- roir,” subtle differences in fla- vor depending on where in the sound the oysters are grown. Mr. Taylor turned his opera- tions over to his children, who diversified further. Today, the company has branches in Cali- fornia and Canada, a nursery operation in Hawaii, a pearl farm in Fiji and a distribution center in Hong Kong. Mr. Taylor continued to walk the mud flats until weeks before his death, and what he saw worried him. He was par- ticularly concerned with the disappearance of flatfish and small crabs, which he thought resulted from an excess of nu- trients in the water—most likely from septic and munici< pal wastewater plants. That excess also helps some species, like oysters, which these days grow twice as fast as in the past. "Any other oys- ter farmer would be elated by that, but Justin was con- cerned,” said Bill Dewey, a Tay- lor Farm executive. Email remembrances@wsj.com , OCR Text: By STEPHEN MILLER Justin Taylor founded one of the largest shellfish-farming operations in North America and fought to clean up Wash- ington state’s Puget Sound. Mr. Taylor, who died Mon- day at age 90, was a familiar sight to generations of South Puget Sound residents as he trod its expanse to check on his oysters and clams. “Some people climb moun- tains,” Mr. Taylor told the Olympian newspaper in 2007. “I walk mud flats.” His Taylor Shellfish Farms raises a half«dozen varieties of oysters, plus clams, mussels and even giant geoduck clams two feet long that it sends to China and Japan. The company says it has annual revenue of $50 million. A third-generation oyster- man, Mr. Taylor grew up in Shelton, Wash, on the South Sound, where brackish inlets and bays recede to reveal tidal mud flats, perfect habitat for oysters and clams. Industry in Shelton in those days was split between oyster- ing for the canned»oyster mar~ ket and a pulp mill that drew on the region’s ample forests. The mill, which opened in 1927, employed about 400 workers but polluted the wa- ter, poisoning oysters. A de- cades-long confrontation en» sued between pulp workers and oystermen. Unlike oyster- men in other states, those in Washington had long owned their own beds and so had ex- tra incentive to fight for them. Mr. Taylor helped lead the oystermen’s fight, including lawsuits demanding repara- tions after oyster harvests fell by as much as 90%. The native Olympia oysters were nearly wiped out and still haven’t re- covered. The mill was finally closed in 1957 after Washing- ton state refused to grant it a wastewater permit. In the late 19605, Mr. Taylor and a brother established their aquaculture company. They started buying prime oyster grounds and built a hatchery that produced hundreds of mil- lions of oyster larvae. They ex- , panded into clams and mus- ‘ sels, which are grown in bags suspended in the bay. Mr. Taylor’s farming opera- tions coincided with a change in tastes, with raw oysters be- coming his predominant prod uct. Puget Sound oysters be- came so popular that some connoisseurs speak of “mer- roir,” subtle differences in fla- vor depending on where in the sound the oysters are grown. Mr. Taylor turned his opera- tions over to his children, who diversified further. Today, the company has branches in Cali- fornia and Canada, a nursery operation in Hawaii, a pearl farm in Fiji and a distribution center in Hong Kong. Mr. Taylor continued to walk the mud flats until weeks before his death, and what he saw worried him. He was par- ticularly concerned with the disappearance of flatfish and small crabs, which he thought resulted from an excess of nu- trients in the water—most likely from septic and munici< pal wastewater plants. That excess also helps some species, like oysters, which these days grow twice as fast as in the past. "Any other oys- ter farmer would be elated by that, but Justin was con- cerned,” said Bill Dewey, a Tay- lor Farm executive. Email remembrances@wsj.com , Mason County Genealogical Society,Obituaries,Obituaries for Shelton Cemetery,T Last Name,Taylor, Justin Eugene #4.tif,Taylor, Justin Eugene #4.tif, Taylor, Justin Eugene #4.tif