Some Members of the Tiverton Harbor Commission Feel Misled by the Oyster Farmers

In recordings of the Tiverton Harbor Commission Meetings over the past year, we are able to piece together the previous discussions around the Bowen permit application on the south side of Seapowet Point.


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March 1, 2021 - Inaccurate statements made from Bowens

Patrick Bowen opening statement on notifying abutters for the Tiverton Harbor Commission:

…there have been no letters of opposition received from adjacent property owners. We have personally discussed our proposal with no fewer than three nearby property owners all of whom have been supportive and expressed interest in the proposal….

In reality, there were two dissenting letters from recreational fin fisherman that CRMC received in May 2020 and July 2020 - well before this meeting.

Watch video of comments here.


June 7, 2021 - Council Member Paul Duarte raises concerns

…When the Bowens brought all this up to us in the first place they said, ‘Oh there’s no shellfish there anyways. They didn’t say anything about being an angler spot…..They were hell-bent on getting the thing as close to shore so they could access it from the shore….I was not aware of it being an angler spot. They made us aware that people they said that were next door were totally okay with it. When I did the research, those people weren’t next door, they were about a half a mile down the river. So, I’m a little…bit perturbed at this point right now because of the way that this thing was presented to us without all the facts, and we just went with what was presented to us…we didn’t have all the facts.  Having all the facts now, I’m against it and if there’s a way that we can have a re-vote on it, I would revote. And my vote would be against it. That’s all I have to say....

Paul Duarte, Tiverton Harbor Commission Council Member 

June 7, 2021

Watch video of comments here.

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Sakonnet Times: Proposed Oyster Farm Meets Resistance

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Letter: Oyster yard access route would violate Tiverton zoning