To the Editor:
This shows the southwest corner of the proposed oyster farm at full build out in year three. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Mariculture Unlimited has decreased the size and impact of its proposed oyster farm so that in the first year only 20 acres of underwater area would be occupied.
The remaining two phases of gear deployment are contingent upon the absence of impact to the site and to other interests.
As evidenced by the operation of Saltwater Farms in Rhode Island, a subsurface oyster farm CAN coexist with an active recreational boating community.
At that site, the sailors use one of the buoys from the oyster farm as an official race buoy! There have been no gear entanglements and no injuries during the first three seasons of operation.
This is a portion of a chart with the oyster farm superimposed over it. (CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Here in Westport, despite solid data to prove the safety and benefits of this type of oyster farm, our boating community is asking for yet another public hearing and is continuing to actively campaign against this reasonable proposal.
It just doesn’t seem fair to deprive the people of the State of Connecticut the environmental benefits that this farm has to offer.
Attached please find two files. The first file is a picture taken from the southwest corner of the proposed oyster farm at full build-out in year three; this picture shows that there is A LOT OF SPACE OUT THERE.
The second file is a portion of a chart with the oyster farm superimposed over it; this chart shows the distance from shore to the proposed oyster farm as 1.5 to 2 miles. Hardly what has been referred to as “the Post Road” of Westport boating.
John Garofalo
Westport
