THOMASTON — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has turned down a request to site an oyster and sea scallop aquaculture farm in a cove on Pleasant Island in Mussel Ridge Channel. DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher signed the denial July 14.

The Maine Mariculture Company LLC, with four principals and a business address at Merchant’s Landing in Spruce Head, had identified the 3.62-acre site at Home Harbor, at the northeast side of Pleasant Island.

The DMR wrote in its conclusion that the aquaculture as proposed would interfere with the ingress and egress of riparian owners, would interfere with navigation, as well as harm significant flora and fauna.

The application cited placing 900 oyster cages and 300 stacks of aquatrays within a 3.66-acre (later reduced to 1.2 acres) leased area of marine habitat.

Because Marine Mariculture Company LLC reduced the size of its proposed lease area after a Nov. 14, 2016 public hearing on the application, the DMR said in its decision that the applicant could, if it wished, pursue a new lease for the reduced size site.

“If the applicant wishes to pursue a lease for a site reduced in size, as it has proposed, it should begin the application process anew, so that the intervenors and the public are given a reasonable opportunity to be heard and the department has record evidence specific to the proposal to consider in light of the applicable lease decision criteria,” according to the decision.

Lease application

The cove site is shallow, 25 feet of water at high tide and 15 feet at low tide. The bottom, according to the application filed with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, is muddy and rocky, with rockweed and eelgrass.

Mariculture had hoped to eventually produce 1.4 million oysters and 610,000 scallops per year, within a 10-year lease period. When producing to those levels, the company said it intended to hire 10 part-time and full-time employees, depending on market conditions and production effectiveness.

The principals involved in Mariculture are Brendan Atwood and Genevieve Atwood, of Winooski, Vt.; Darrald Atwood, of Oxford, Ct.; and Ryan Atwood, of Stamford, Connecticut.

Maine Mariculture owned much of the gear already, according to the application.

Oyster seed was to be obtained from Muscongus Bay Aquaculture, in Bremen, and Mook Sea Farms, in Walpole.

The wild scallop spat was to be caught by licensees Brendan and Darrald Atwood.

The company proposed growing scallops on ropes that hang vertically in the water, with approximately 70 scallops per line. The rope lines were to be attached to transverse lines, at a maximum of 185 vertical lines per 240-foot transverse line, with a maximum of 13,000 scallops per transverse line.

Projected maximum quantity of scallops grown by ear-hanging was to be 250,000, according to the Oct. 14 lease application.

The site was be serviced by a 12-foot by 24-foot barge, and the production was be tendered 10 days a month between May and October for up to eight hours a day.

In July 2016, a team of Maine Dept. of Marine Resources personnel visited the site and produced its report.

The report said the “proposed lease activities are not expected to interfere with navigation in the general vicinity. Although the channel north of Pleasant Island and south of Hewett Island is navigated for both commercial and recreational purposes, boats transiting this area will not be negatively impacted by the presence of the proposed lease at any tide. The site is located greater than 1,065 feet from Hewett Island at Mean Low Water (MLW) while another location in the same channel provides only ~495 feet (MLW) between Pleasant Island and ledges south of Hewett Island.”

The report noted that there were 25 lobster pot buoys within Home Harbor. Mariculture had said the site is fished by five or fewer lobstermen, setting 15 traps there, near the aquaculture site.

The DMR report said: “Approximately 15 of these lobster pot buoys were located within the proposed lease area. Upon examining the site via dive transect, MDMR scientists observed that the high number of lobster pot buoys were accompanied by a high density of American lobster (Homarus americanus). At full development the proposed lease would prevent commercial lobstermen from setting lobster traps within its boundaries and would diminish their ability to operate in Home Harbor.  

The 2017 decision

According to the July 14, 2017 DMR decision, the placement of 900 cages and 300 aquatrays on top of kelp beds would shade and likely damage them, as well as habitat nurturing lobster.

Likewise, floating the cages would shade the kelp beds, and repeated movement of gear would damage the beds.

“Here in Home Harbor, the unusually flourishing habitat for kelp and lobster on the proposed lease site would inevitably be damaged by the intensive aquaculture operations planned for the site,” the decision said.

Read the attached PDF for the entire decision

The Mariculture aquaculture proposal joins 29 other lease applications before the Maine DMR, for spots stretching along the coast. There are already multiple leases in effect, and can be seen here: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/leases/decisions/index.html.

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Mussel Ridge scallop, oyster aquaculture proposal to be aired in Thomaston

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com, or 207-706-6657