BRUNSWICK, Maine — Nearly two years after Mere Point Oyster Company applied to the state to expand its oyster-growing operation in Maquoit Bay, the Department of Marine Resources on Thursday granted final approval for a slightly-modified, 35-acre lease.
Opponents of the lease have already said they plan to appeal in court.
Doug Niven and Dan Devereaux, owners of Mere Point Oyster Company, received approved on Thursday for a 10-year aquaculture lease. They plan to grow as many as 1.5 million oysters in the next three years and to explore the feasibility of cultivating scallops and quahogs.
Devereaux said Friday that the news "put a lot of smiles on our families' faces."
The pair applied in February 2018 to expand their operation to a 40-acre lease.
They said scientific data showed the lease would allow them to sustainably grow oysters, improve water quality in the bay, and ensure the two families a way of life for generations.
The operation will be run from floating platforms in Maquoit Bay, accessed from a dock in front of Niven’s home. The oysters will be grown in floating cages and harvested year-round.
Already, Niven’s and Devereaux’s sons are working at Mere Point Oyster Company.
"I think it’s great for Maine working watermen," Niven said. "Being able to have my kids and Dan’s kids stay here in the state of Maine and make a living on the water, and a lot of other youth that are coming out of the school systems that we’re trying to get involved."
The application was opposed by a group of neighbors and fishermen, who organized as Concerned Citizens of Maquoit Bay, who argued that the lease would interfere with valuable fishing areas and other uses of the area.
The group, then known as Save Maquoit Bay, unsuccessfully petitioned the DMR earlier this year, asking for an immediate moratorium on all pending aquaculture lease applications in the state larger than 10 acres.
They said the proposed leases, if approved, would result in a loss of fishing area, and they asked that the requested moratorium be retroactive so it would apply to the Mere Point Oyster Company application.
Lobsterman Tom Sanguida, one of the chief opponents of the proposed lease, told NEWS CENTER Maine in September 2018, "Lobster fishermen feel like [oyster farms are] a runaway train at the expense of traditional fisheries."
They, along with supporters of the project, spoke at a public hearing in late 2018 and early 2019 that stretched to three evenings.
But in a draft decision issued in October, the DMR denied dozens of arguments by CCMB against the lease, including that it would adversely affect fishing in the nearly 3,000-square-foot, would interfere with navigation in channels, would disturb eelgrass, and would unduly interfere with recreation. The decision also rejects allegations including that the department did not notify other state agencies and did not properly review the area where the lease would be located.
The department also rejected the assertion that Devereaux, as the town's former marine resources officer, had a conflict of interest, noting that other town officials reviewed the application in his stead, that Maine Marine Patrol officers reviewed the application as well, and that only the DMR -- not town officials -- has the authority to approve or deny the lease.
Crystal Canney, spokeswoman for Concerned Citizens of Maquoit Bay, said in a release that the organization plans to appeal the lease decision in superior court.
Canney, who was unavailable on Friday, said the decision ignores permitting rules, fishermen’s testimony, and “the will of the people.”
But Devereaux said the DMR took two years to thoroughly examine the evidence and he’s confident the decision will hold up.
“We’re ready to move forward with the process," he said Friday. "We’ve been in the process for two years now. We went through 16 hours of public hearings. We’re excited that DMR ... number 1, we were patient with DMR. They took almost a year to review the evidence and everything else so it’s been vetted both by the public and by the scientists and we’re excited to get to work."
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