Oyster Farmer's Fogland Proposal Wades Through Government Waters

The Sakonnet River has been a sanctuary for Tiverton resident Chris Clarendon’s small oyster farming operation. He hopes to soon test a new spot on the north side of Fogland Point.

But that proposal has been met with some opposition, and Clarendon has been waiting since April 2010 to have his commercial viability application heard by the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). He found out  that a decision will be made Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Administrative Building on Capitol Hill in Providence.

Clarendon, 52, is proposing to place eight oyster bags on the sandy bottom of a shallow area northeast of Fogland Point. The longline, bags and anchors would require about 400 square feet of space, which according to CRMC is well within the limit of 1,000 square feet required for a test permit. Clarendon says he’s only looking to grow oysters within approximately 100 square feet. But some continue to think his plans would encroach on local recreation.

Windsurfers oppose application

Off a thin strip of coast off Fogland Point last Friday, windsurfers from all over could be seen out enjoying the beautiful, warm afternoon. Clarendon was harvesting oysters nearby, walking with his skiff near the vicinity of the proposed test spot.

When his application for the Fogland test reached the public, it was met with opposition from several wind and kite surfers, he said.

According to the CMRC report, 25 letters and e-mail objections were received, mostly from out-of-state residents who claimed that Clarendon’s proposed aquaculture operation was not compatible with wind surfing since Fogland is a recreational destination.

CRMC states that Tiverton has no aquaculture operations in town, but the local government is working to craft an oyster farming policy. Clarendon currently sits on the Tiverton Harbor and Coastal Waters Management Commission and is helping write the town’s aquaculture policy.

He said that he specifically asked CRMC last spring to hold his application until another oyster proposal at Nanaquaket Pond was resolved. That applicant, Peter Sebring, reportedly withdrew his application for a larger, top-floating commercial operation on three-acres of the pond after receiving what  that was in strong opposition to his proposal.

“I think they would have done better if they approached the homeowners,” Clarendon said of the Nanaquaket proposal last week, while on his boat preparing oysters for the farmers market. “They were going for a full-scale operation. I think they sprung it on the people of Nanaquaket and they had a bad reaction. Mine’s a commercial viability to test whether these oysters will grow.”

He reiterates that those in opposition to his proposal don’t seem to understand that it is merely a test to work within 100 square feet of space, with a handful of vinyl mesh bags on the sea floor marked with a buoy, not a top-floating system. He recently changed his proposed location to the extreme northeastern corner of the basin less than 200 feet from shore.

A start in Portsmouth

Clarendon began Seapowet Shellfish LLC in 2004, motoring his 19-foot Carolina Skiff to a municipal dock pier underneath the Glen Manor House in Portsmouth. That's where he currently leases, and where he harvests oysters in two dozen cages suspended from the pier. They're sold locally on the market several hours later.

In a good year, Clarendon, who lives in Tiverton with his wife and two kids, breaks even with his oysters.

“It’s sad, but true,” he said.

From the CRMC application fees, to the licenses he has to renew annually with the state, to his liability insurance, to the cost to mooring his skiff and gasoline, Clarendon hopes a new location will make oyster harvesting less burdensome. A Rhode Island School of Design graduate, Clarendon worked as a graphic designer for 20 years before choosing to switch careers. He said he was inspired by aquaculture in a class at Roger Williams University. Now he enjoys being in his outdoor “office” all day.

The cost to begin an oyster operation has doubled as well, he noted, stating that the cost of “seed” oysters (baby oysters purchased to begin an oyster farm) increased from five- to six-millimeter seed for $15 per 1,000 to $30. Another fragile constraint of the job is monitoring diseases, pests and predators going after his oysters.

Clarendon sells every oyster he grows in Tiverton and also sells to area restaurants.

“All summer long I’m selling to Tiverton, to turn people on to oysters,” he said.

'I don't want to take recreation away from anyone'

Clarendon said he believes that one year should be a sufficient time to determine whether his Fogland operation will succeed.

“I’m just curious as to how the system works,” Clarendon said about Rhode Island’s aquaculture governance.

The farmer said he “loves” the spot at Fogland Point due just north since it is the only place that’s close and protected enough to potentially harvest some oysters.

As someone who used to wind surf himself at Fogland 25 years ago, he insists that he doesn’t “want to take recreation away from anyone.”

Just as the opposed windsurfers have gathered petitions, Clarendon says so too has he provided the CRMC with 22 letters of support, 21 of which came from Tiverton residents. He noted that he can easily get more support.

Clarendon said the opposed windsurfers took to online media last June and had a letter published on surfertoday.com urging all local windsurfers to oppose his application.

“I tried contacting surfertoday.com to state my side,” Clarendon said. He claims that he received no response to his three e-mails to them.

Last Friday, Clarendon trolled the shallow waters for oysters. He noted that not a single windsurfer came close to him.