The Harpswell Select Board has established a new Aquaculture Working Group in response to concerns about the growth of the industry off the town’s coast.
The group “will undertake a comprehensive review of stakeholder concerns and interests regarding aquaculture in Harpswell and current Maine law and processes regarding the application for and authorization of aquaculture licenses and leases with Maine’s Department of Marine Resources,” according to its mission statement.
After completing its review, the group “may consider making recommendations to the Select Board for actions that serve to sustainably and equitably manage the shared waters and their resources in Harpswell,” according to the statement.
In addition to forming the working group, the Select Board is seeking a meeting with the Maine Department of Marine Resources to discuss residents’ concerns.
The board’s actions follow a request from the Harpswell Marine Resources Committee for a yearlong ban on new aquaculture leases. The committee wants to use the year to study the effects of oyster farms and other aquaculture on wild shellfish. The Maine Department of Marine Resources, however, claims exclusive jurisdiction over aquaculture, regardless of municipal bans.
Harpswell has three “standard” aquaculture leases, the category for the largest and longest-term operations, along with eight “experimental” leases and 91 “limited purpose” licenses, according to Paul Plummer, the town’s harbor master and marine resources administrator.
The Select Board approved the Aquaculture Working Group’s mission statement on May 9 and appointed eight people to the group on May 23.
The members are Samantha Bohan, Darcie Couture, Matt Gilley, Jerry Leeman III, Jay McCreight, Chris McIntire, Billy Saxton and David Wilson.
The members bring a variety of interests and expertise to the discussion. Bohan and Couture are oyster farmers. Gilley and McIntire are lobstermen. Leeman is the CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. McCreight, a former state representative, was the House chair of the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee. Saxton chairs the town’s Harbor and Waterfront Committee, while Wilson leads the town’s Marine Resources Committee.
As the working group prepares to convene for the first time, the Maine Department of Marine Resources has agreed to meet with the Select Board.
In a May 7 letter to the department, Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson said it had declined a previous request for a meeting.
“With a proud fishing heritage, 216 miles of coastline and as one of the top fishing ports in the State of Maine, the Town of Harpswell is committed to sustaining our working waterfront/fishing businesses amidst the challenges facing them,” Johnson said in the letter. “With this in mind, the Town of Harpswell respectfully seeks assistance from the [Department of Marine Resources] as we navigate our concerns related to aquaculture.”
Kohl Kanwit, director of the department’s Bureau of Public Health and Aquaculture, said in an email on Tuesday that department officials would attend a meeting. But Kanwit reiterated the state’s stance that it will continue to process aquaculture applications regardless of any municipal action.
“It would be up to the town to sue the state if a lease were granted in conflict with a town moratorium and the issue would be resolved in court,” Kanwit said in the email to Harpswell Town Administrator Kristi Eiane.
Kanwit also said department representatives “have met several times” with Wilson, the chair of the Harpswell Marine Resources Committee.
“Those conversations have more or less ended with Mr. Wilson believing there has to be a negative impact of floating oyster aquaculture on softshell clam larvae and us responding that there is no convincing science to support that position,” Kanwit said.
At the Select Board’s May 23 meeting, multiple speakers offered comments about aquaculture.
George Prince, a Harpswell Neck lobsterman and board member with the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, expressed concern about the loss of fishing grounds to aquaculture.
“I share the water with other lobstermen, scallopers, purse seiners, gill netters, divers and recreational boaters,” Prince said. “I fish within feet of other fishermen every day.”
He said that when the state leases an area to one person, only that person can use it. Even if the lease allows fishermen to cross over the area, “it is impossible to fish underneath of a floating farm,” he said.
“My question, which I’m sure you can’t answer: When did the ocean go up for sale? I think a lot of us would like to know the answer to that,” Prince said. He concluded with a request for authorities “to think twice before we lease any more bottom and put several industries at risk for the sake of another science project.”
Wilson, the chair of the Marine Resources Committee and a clam digger and aquaculturist who lives on Harpswell Neck, expressed appreciation for the Select Board’s willingness to act.
Wilson said he had planned months ago to circulate a petition to address the issue. In his initial efforts, he was surprised to find that many fishermen and other residents shared his concerns. Wilson thanked the board for working with them and expressed hope for a resolution.
