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The Maine Department of Marine Resources finally approved a nearly 40-acre oyster farm in Brunswick on Thursday, but opponents immediately stated that they would appeal the decision in court.
This controversial farm is located in Marquette Bay and is owned by Mere Point Oyster Co. in Brunswick.
The 10-year lease of 34.52 acres has been reduced from the 39.84 acres originally requested. This will remain one of the largest oyster leases in the state, potentially increasing the annual production of Mere Point Oyster from approximately 110,000 oysters to as many as 1.5 million oysters.
DMR agreed with the lease proposal in October. However, the proposed lease has met with strong opposition from some waterfront landowners and lobster farmers, who fear that it will affect their quality of life and conflict with recreational and commercial ships on the water.
The company plans to grow American/Eastern oysters, European oysters, Gulf scallops, sea scallops and North American oysters.
On November 5th, Drummond Woodsum lawyer David Kallin submitted a 20-page document to the DMR on behalf of the relevant citizens of Maquoit Bay, requesting the DMR commissioner to reject Mere Point's lease application.
One of the complaints in the file was that one of the owners of Mere Point Oyster, Daniel Devereaux, was also the port master of Brunswick when considering the lease request.
In Thursday’s ruling, DMR stated that at the pre-application meeting in July 2017, Devereaux stated that Brunswick’s town manager, John Eldridge, would assume responsibilities related to the lease proposal. Devereaux later corrected this instruction after the meeting, stating that Brunswick Patrol Commander Thomas Garrepy would review the proposal.
Kalin could not be reached immediately for comment.
Soon after the DMR ruled to approve the lease on Thursday, an organization called Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage issued a press release stating that the decision will be appealed in court.
Crystal Canney, a spokesperson for Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage, did not immediately comment.
“The interveners stated that the hearing officer’s recommendations ignored the licensing rules, the testimony of the fishermen and the wishes of the people. They favored a wealthy aquaculture investor and the Port of Brunswick, who had serious conflicts of interest in the project. "The press release said.
DMR spokesperson Jeff Nichols said that DMR's ruling is final and any appeal must be made through the Cumberland County High Court.
Devereaux stated that the review process through the DMR was thorough and included 16 hours of public testimony on three different days.
"The process has been well reviewed," he said. "I believe that if there is an appeal, it will be rejected."
Devereaux said that out of the 34.52 acres of land, only 28 acres are feasible because the company must allow a through corridor at the time of leasing. However, he said that when renting the entire 34.52 acres of land, he would pay the state government $100 per acre per year.