Tisbury selectmen have continued until early April a hearing on Noah Mayrand’s application to farm oysters in a one-acre portion of Lake Tashmoo. Mr. Mayrand is the first to apply for an aquaculture permit in Tisbury, which finalized its permitting regulations late last year.
“These are new endeavors on the part of the town,” said Melinda Loberg, who chairs the board of selectmen, at the public hearing Thursday evening.
Mr. Mayrand said his oyster farm would help clean the water in the 270-acre estuary.
Sample testing by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission found increased levels of nitrogen pollution in Lake Tashmoo last year. Shellfish such as oysters and quahogs filter nitrogen out of the water.
“Several hundred thousand oysters, [each] pumping over 40 gallons a day, would greatly reduce our chances of the pond continuing an irreversible amount of damage,” Mr. Mayrand said.
Some town officials who spoke during Thursday’s hearing expressed reservations about the location of Mr. Mayrand’s proposed farm, in a mooring area popular with visiting boaters. Some Tisbury residents strongly opposed it.
“I’m not necessarily in favor of the area that he is proposing as it is a conflict among user groups,” town shellfish constable Danielle Ewart said. “It is highly populated with boats in the summer time. It is a destination spot for people to anchor. That is going to be an issue.”
Tisbury harbormaster John Crocker offered some suggestions for Mr. Mayrand should he receive permission to set up his oyster farm there.
“I can foresee that there will be conflicts with the gear and with people running through the gear and possibly anchoring in the gear,” Mr. Crocker said. “I would suggest Mr Mayrand make a sincere effort to be there on the weekends. . . and keep a positive attitude when he interacts with the other boaters.
“This is going to be an educational process,” Mr. Crocker added. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Strong opposition to Mr. Mayrand’s site plan came from Tisbury scalloper Glenn Pachico and boater Lynne Fraker.
“I can’t believe that they’re even considering letting it be there,” Glenn Pachico said. “There are 70 to 90 boats that come in there and anchor on weekends.”
Ms. Fraker agreed with Mr. Pachico that the site is unsuitable for aquaculture.
“It’s the only place in Tashmoo where the boating public has access to anchor,” she said.
Other speakers supported the application, including Tashmoo neighbor Ted Karalekas and Edgartown oyster farmer Jeremy Scheffer, for whom Mr. Mayrand has been working in recent years.
“I’d be willing to go out there and help Noah set up, for nothing, to see how it’s going to go,” Mr. Karalekas said.
“Give someone like Noah a chance and he’s going to use his time, his money and his effort to clean up your water,” Mr. Scheffer said.
Ms. Loberg and selectman Jeff Kristal voted to continue accepting public comments by mail and resume the hearing on Mr. Mayrand’s application at 5:30 p.m. April 7. Selectman James Rogers was absent.
Comments (14)
Comments
Comment policy »