In Oyster Bay, state permission to transplant clams draws criticism

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A shell-fishing company can again transplant clams from the protected Mill Neck creek to the port of Oyster Bay to harvest them under a state-issued permit on March 31.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit allows Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. to transplant hard clams from a 62.7-acre area into the creek at one of four areas east of Oyster Bay Harbor, an entrance to Long Island Sound from April 3 to October 10.

Last year, the town of Oyster Bay, which leases undersea land from Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. for shellfish harvesting, unsuccessfully sued the DEC in an attempt to stop the transplant.

The DEC’s decision to re-allow the company to use mechanical harvesting vessels to move clams from uncertified to certified areas is the latest development in a long saga of disputes over shellfish harvesting at Oyster Bay. .

Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. has been harvesting shellfish in the bay for over 100 years, but with its last municipal lease from 1994 expiring next year and no new lease in place, the company’s role and the future of shellfish fishing in the harbor are uncertain.

Underwater land areas where the harvesting of clams for food is permitted year-round are called certified areas, a designation based on sanitary conditions. Areas where harvesting is not permitted are called non-certified areas. The underwater parts where harvesting is only allowed at certain times of the year are called seasonal certified areas.

Shellfish transplanted from an uncertified area may only be harvested for human consumption if they have undergone a natural cleaning process.

When clams from non-certified areas arrive in one of the designated areas, that area will be decertified.

When the transplanting of new clams in this area ceases, the company will notify the DEC. The DEC will recertify this area after the water temperature has been at a minimum of 50 degrees for at least 21 days and the cleanup is complete.

The new permit has drawn criticism.

The uncertified waters of Mill Neck Creek serve as an undisturbed spawning sanctuary that can help repopulate the bay, Friends of the Bay said in a recent letter to DEC.

He said Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. threatened to leave the area’s shellfish population “catastrophically overfished.”

The DEC issued a permit to the company in 2020 to transplant clams, but withdrew it after city officials refused to monitor the program. In 2022, DEC issued a new permit with a provision that it would provide oversight.

The DEC strictly monitors the transplant program to ensure permitted activities in harvesting and clean-up areas are undertaken in accordance with permit conditions to protect public health and the environment, the agency said in a statement. last week.

The DEC statement added that the agency was working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, city officials and Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. “to ensure that all transplant activities are carried out in accordance with the authorizations provided. .

Mill Neck Creek is not certified due to high bacteria levels, according to a court filing.

Mill Neck Creek was the site of a shellfish hatchery that Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc. operated for years to stock the harbor, but the company closed the hatchery in 2019 when it became uncertain whether the city ​​would renew the company’s lease.

Oyster Bay supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a statement Friday that it was “irresponsible” for the state “to issue a permit that allows a for-profit business to undo years of progress made by the city and local conservationists in protecting the harbor and local marine life.”

Company attorney James Cammarata declined to comment on the permit. He wrote in court filings from 2022 that the DEC had let its client transplant seashells for years and “has a long history of monitoring, protecting and delivering quality seashells to market.

Last year, a state judge refused to issue an injunction that Oyster Bay officials were seeking to stop the transplant. In January, the judge dismissed the city’s lawsuit as moot because that permit had expired on September 1.

DEC PERMIT

Allows the company to transplant clams from the port of the creek from April 3 to October 10

Clams must sit in the cleaning area before harvesting

SOURCE: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

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