GEORGETOWN
The Shellfish Conservation Commission decided Thursday to opt out of a state-run experimental lease of clam flats and go instead with a revised town ordinance.
Chairman Chad Campbell said the commission favors adopting rules for a “nonproductive clam flat lease” that would regulate clam flats in town. The Selectboard will consider revisions to existing town rules and then could send a new ordinance to a townwide vote.
Chris Warner, a commission member who lives in Bath, wants to lease a 2.3-acre Bay Point parcel from the family of Jay Holt, of Georgetown. Warner had proposed to seed the unproductive bed and applied to the state Department of Marine Resources for an experimental, three-year aquaculture lease.
But during a commission meeting last month, many members of the public opposed turning over mud flats in town to state control — even if it was just for three years.
“People are afraid that something small will turn out big, and that they’ll lose townowned clam flats,” Campbell said after that meeting. “They want to keep it on a town level.”
Under the original proposal, the state Department of Marine Resources was to consider Warner’s lease application that would allow him to seed and harvest the clams.
Now, the town will decide.
“We just want to keep it in town,” Campbell said.
The state will help town officials with the wording for the new ordinance proposal, he said.
The decision will work best for everyone, Campbell said. “It’s an area that’s not full of clams,” he said. “It’s a winwin. They’re going to spawn, and then they’re going to float around the bay.”
Campbell said the town can make the lease happen faster. “We do that all the time,” he said.
Warner recused himself from Thursday night’s vote. The commission’s action will close the entire cove for conservation, he said.
“The townspeople feel much more comfortable with that and I do, too,” he said. “We’ll work with the (state Department of Marine Resources) and, if everything works out, I can start the seeding.”
The selectboard will consider the commission’s action when it meets on Nov. 13.
lgrard@timesrecord.com
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