Mission Statement

We believe that aquaculture permit applicants should be required to obtain support from the abutting property owners and surrounding community members.

If your next-door neighbor wishes to erect a new building, zoning law rightfully requires that they discuss with you how it may impact your adjacent property. However, in this case, permit applicants can seek approval of their permanent installation of equipment without notification to abutters, infringing on the abutters’ rights to retain their property values and to enjoy the coastal resources that are shared with the general public to access.

We support the aquaculture farmers’ right to make a living - some of the concerned members of this group are farmers and fishermen ourselves - but we do not assume that this can only be done by infringing on the rights of others. Our proposed resolution is that the aquaculture farmers apply for sites that are already used for commercial aquaculture, and/or do not impact public access a vibrant recreational use area.

We are asking Coastal Resources Management Council and Tiverton Harbor Commission to reconsider the permit applications and restart this process based on the Good Neighbor policy that applicants should “communicate early and openly with water-based and land-based neighbors about any facet of their operation which might affect them.”

Our goal is to create lasting policy that requires the involvement of affected neighbors and the community, so that threats to public access do not come as a surprise to anyone in the Sakonnet River or Narragansett Bay areas again.

Impacts

Specifically, the non-conforming effect of the proposed aquaculture on other confirmed communal uses of fishery, navigation and recreational enjoyment have not been adequately considered as required by the CRMC’s regulations 650-RICR-20-00-1, 1.3.1, F & J.

The CRMC’s 5% aquaculture rule used for South Coast salt ponds may not apply to the social carrying capacity of the proposed Seapowet oyster farm which is a direct intrusion on the public and their established endowment of swimming, kayaking and boating. At lowest tide of two feet in the proposed area, the oyster cages would obtrude, creating safety issues, people and boats will be unable to freely pass over and could become entangled in the cage mechanisms.

The applicants have failed to meet the burden that their aquaculture facility is consistent with the best public interest as emphasized under R.I. Gen Laws 20-10-1. The applicants did not contact the abutters/neighbors of their proposed oyster farm prior to or during their application. In reference to the East Coast Shellfish Growers’ Association (ECSGA) best practices, the applicants have neglected the tenets of the Good Neighbor policy, “communicate early and openly with water-based and land-based neighbors about any facet of their operation which might affect them,” such as daily maintenance and operations required for hundreds of cages. In addition, “identifying other users is the first step in a successful farm and includes upland property owners in close proximity, boating/fishing activity.” There are concerns of transportation frequency from land through the water with an 18-foot boat and how this conveying will affect the proximity of birds and wildlife of Seapowet Marsh.

Protect our recreational rights on the water.

Once these two farms are approved, the Sakonnet River will change forever. While CRMC grants these leases for a fixed number of years, the agreements could last in perpetuity. Imagine putting a power plant in the Grand Canyon. For many Rhode Islanders, the Sakonnet River is just such a place. Because it is shallow and sandy, we have no shipping traffic. There are no commercial facilities of any kind on land or in the water from the southern Tiverton Harbor breakwater to Sakonnet Point. This jewel is the last waterway in mainland Rhode Island, and perhaps southern New England, to remain this preserved. Why then, should we mar our common scenic beauty and restrict access with acres of floating plastic and cages that foul our recreation areas?

These two applications are just the beginning. Without real notification to allow for community feedback, the industrial use of the Sakonnet is our future.

SUBSCRIBE TO CRMC CALENDAR FOR ALERTS SO YOU STAY INFORMED:

Email cstaff1@crmc.ri.gov Please add your name to your email list for the Town of Tiverton and Little Compton so you can receive Tiverton based and Little Compton based applications that require public notification and any other full review of aquaculture projects.

OBJECT

To contact the CRMC about applications to object (via email or emailed letter) or submit a general comment:

• Please email cstaff1@crmc.ri.gov and reference the file# or name in the subject line.

FILE NAME FOR APPLICATION SOUTH OF SEAPOWET POINT:

John Bowen and Patrick Bowen

2020-04-037

FILE NAME FOR APPLICATION NORTH OF SEAPOWET POINT:

Boehringer and Lundgren

2021-02-054

Send correspondence and letters to Council members:

• Please send email to council@crmc.ri.gov
  (All emails will come though CRMC's main server and then go out to Members.)