Oyster Bay seeks to extend shellfishing moratorium at 2 harbors

Town of Oyster Bay officials want to prolong by six months a moratorium on shellfishing on 1,400 acres of underwater land in Cold Spring and Oyster Bay harbors.

After a town lease that allowed a private vendor exclusive access to the lands expired at midnight on Sept. 30, a shellfishing moratorium went into effect for those parts on Oct. 1. If the new extension is approved, the moratorium would be active for at least one year.

Town officials said in the fall they needed time to survey the bay bottom before devising a long-term plan for the lands following the departure of Frank M. Flower & Sons. Town officials plan to build and operate a new shellfish hatchery that is capable of producing 100 million clams and oysters each year.

A recent survey found a meager number of clamshells on the underwater lands. The town needs more time to find the best areas to plant and grow shellfish, Town Attorney William McCabe said during a public hearing the town held on Tuesday. The focus will be on finding sanctuaries where shellfish can be planted and allowed to grow without the threat of harvesting, he said.

The survey found a combined 2.4 clam seeds and adult clams per square meter, town officials said at the hearing. An environment is considered high-density, McCabe said, if a survey shows 20 clams per square meter. The study, he added, found that the harvest of shellfish in recent years without the planting of additional stock “has severely depleted the clam population to extremely low levels.”

The study cost Oyster Bay $49,750, according to town spokesman Brian Nevin. 

“We now need this additional time to ascertain and map out which areas of this habitat could be set aside as sanctuaries, where seeds and shellfish can be planted over the next several years,” McCabe said.

The shellfish population in Oyster Bay has declined in recent years, according to data from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Declines, including in other East Coast estuaries, are due to a range of factors including rising water temperatures, predation and lower oxygen levels.

For years, Frank M. Flower & Sons operated a commercial hatchery that seeded the harbors. The company stopped hatchery operations in 2019 when — officials said — they lacked assurances of a lease renewal. The company and town are embroiled in litigation, Newsday has reported.

Commercial fishermen in the area who opposed the first moratorium have since softened their stance.

Bill Painter, president of the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association, said he’s been involved in talks with the town in recent months and understands the need to study which areas are best for growing shellfish.

“We all realize that there’s a need to have sanctuary areas,” Painter said during a phone interview. “Baymen will go along with this next extension, and hopefully they could do it quicker than six months — but it better not be more.”

Christine Suter, director of the nonprofit Friends of the Bay, said the group supports the extension “so that the town has the necessary time to clear” the regulatory hurdles for finalizing a plan for the underwater land.