Despite hurdles, aquaculture growing

OUT OF THEIR SHELL: Aquaculture is expanding in Rhode Island, in part thanks to a growing number of shellfish farms in the state, Above, Jeff Gardner, owner of Shellfish for You in Westerly, harvests oysters in Winnapaug Pond. / PBN<2008>PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE
OUT OF THEIR SHELL: Aquaculture is expanding in Rhode Island, in part thanks to a growing number of shellfish farms in the state, Above, Jeff Gardner, owner of Shellfish for You in Westerly, harvests oysters in Winnapaug Pond. / PBNPHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE

In the Ocean State, it’s only natural that aquaculture is part of the economic mix. Even though fish farms – mostly shellfish farms – are only a small part of Rhode Island’s economy, there’s a vital point – the aquaculture industry is growing.
The Ocean State has 50 fish farms, up from 43 in the previous year, said Dave Beutel, aquaculture coordinator for the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council.
“There have been increases in production and better marketing. Last year our oysters were sold in 48 states and Canada,” Beutel said. Oysters account for more than 98 percent of aquaculture in Rhode Island, with other crops, such as littleneck clams and blue mussels, rounding out the mix.
There’s potential for other crops.
“Some people are working on seaweed,” said Beutel. “And there are experimental projects on bay scallops.”
Aquaculture’s farm gate value – that’s the value of products sold – was $2.5 million in 2011, said Beutel.
The slow but steady rise of the farm gate value, from $2.3 million in 2010 and $1.8 million in 2009, is obviously a welcome trend, with Rhode Island’s weak economy and unemployment rate of 10.4 percent.
Aquaculture, however, is not a quick road to steady employment, from the perspective of oyster farmer Jeff Gardner of Westerly. He’s spent 20 years developing his company, Shellfish for You, and his trademarked Watch Hill Oysters, which are sold in fine restaurants from Chicago to Palm Beach and San Diego.
“I sold my two record stores at a profit and my wife works, so that helped when I decided to make a life switch and start growing oysters,” said the 59-year-old Gardner, who farms seven acres of oyster beds, year-round, in Winnapaug Pond.
“I invest $30,000 a year in seed. To grow an oyster takes two-to-three years. In any new business, in the first three-to-five years, there’s a screw-up factor. So for maybe six years, you have to plan on not making any money,” he said.
Gardner has seen many working water men try to transition into aquaculture and said it’s not always a good fit.
“They are two different approaches. A fisherman goes out and harvests what he needs from the wild and he’s done,” Gardner said. “A farmer, which is what I am, goes out and buys seed and seeds the oyster beds.” The water is a pleasant workplace in summer, he said. But it’s sometimes brutal in winter. Gardner is usually on the water by 7:30 a.m. The day might require standing in knee-deep water in frigid temperatures and biting winds.
“I generally have a million oysters growing at any one time,” said Gardner, who has two full-time employees and one part-timer.
Gardner’s seven acres of oyster beds equal a small slice of the state’s 170 acres in aquaculture production. That acreage is up from 160 acres last year, said Beutel.
Aquaculture is an active industry in many areas of Rhode Island, including Narragansett, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, Charlestown, Warwick, Bristol, Portsmouth, Little Compton and Block Island, Beutel said. About half the acreage is in ponds; the rest in Narragansett Bay.
The variety of locations and the good quality of New England oysters help keep Rhode Island oysters strong in the marketplace.
“Oysters taste differently from each location where they’re grown, even the same species,” said Beutel. “I anticipate the steady growth of aquaculture is going to continue. I don’t see the market being saturated for the product.” Growth in the industry doesn’t happen quickly because the process of getting into it is rigorous, said Beutel, who guides people through the details. Getting approval for aquaculture in state waters requires many considerations, including water quality and potential conflicts with commercial fisheries and navigation. Then there are what Beutel called the “imaginary conflicts” he’s heard numerous times from residents.
“Some people say, ‘I don’t want to see people working in the water in front of my house,’ ” Beutel said.
Since Seth Garfield launched Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms in 1981, and trademarked Cuttyhunk Oysters, he has experienced the opportunities in aquaculture, but also seen the obstacles.
“The rules and regulations are staggering,” said Garfield, who farms off Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzards Bay, near New Bedford. While Rhode Island aquaculture requires state approval, Garfield said the towns oversee permitting in Massachusetts. Whoever has the approval authority, local opposition can mean having to deflect all kinds of concerns, Garfield said.
“If you’re trying to put in an oyster farm, someone who owns a house nearby can complain that you might wake them up at six in the morning,” Garfield said. Then there are state and federal regulations.
Some who try to break into aquaculture might spend two years going through the permitting process, then still be denied, Garfield said.
But for those willing to put in the hard work and deal with Mother Nature and hazards such as oil spills, Garfield sees southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island as a viable place to have an aquaculture business and earn a good income.
Garfield employs about a dozen or more high school and college students in the summer for maintenance and harvesting of oyster beds, as well as to help out in his floating raw bar.
Garfield is a part-time oyster farmer who also teaches eigth-grade science at the Wheeler School in Providence. He’s a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, with a degree in zoology.
It’s at URI where Michael Rice, a professor of fisheries and aquaculture who has been at the university for 25 years, is concerned.
“Our department is shrinking in terms of aquaculture,” Rice said. “In about two years, we will probably not be a standalone fisheries and aquaculture program.”
Rice has concerns about losing the identity of the program, which generally has about 25 students.
The program began in 1969 and is one of the oldest aquaculture programs in the Northeast, according to the URI website.
Rice said URI fisheries-and-aquaculture researchers bring in grant money, as well as national and international recognition that add to the reputation of the university.
“If you take a look at aquaculture,” said Rice, “it’s probably one of the prime examples of state and private partnerships in terms of economic development.” •

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