Shuffling between the Island and a modest apartment in Queens, I spend my limited spare time plying the fishing piers and surf for striped bass, scratching the clam flats for quahogs and steamers, or boarding party boats to harvest whatever quarry is in season. Jones Beach and Hempstead Bay shorelines are what I most readily have access to.
Sometimes I venture out even when I know my chances of catching something are low, just to rest my eyes from a blisteringly bright computer screen or clear my head from a densely packed week. Those emails and spreadsheets never do seem to end. It helps to be outside, amid the marshes and back bays, looking as far as my eyes might wander. If I’m lucky, I might see a great egret pecking at tidal pool or what’s-it-called flying above me. I’m not a birder. Either way, I can appreciate the serenity of a relatively undeveloped slice of paradise in the waters of my hometown where I grew up. I find it especially important to slow down when the world seems to move so fast these days.
Recently, the Town of Hempstead obtained a grant to fund an exploratory, draft feasibility study for a potential shellfish and/or seaweed aquaculture license program in Hempstead Bay. The Town describes the program on its municipal website under the Department of Conservation and Waterway’s permit and licenses page: “As presently envisioned, the program would consist of issuing licenses for small scale shellfish and/or seaweed aquaculture by individuals or private organizations on selected locations in the bay. The draft study has been completed and public input is now being requested. This survey period will end December 31st, 2024. Below you can take our online survey, register for public outreach events, and find additional information provided by the ongoing study.”
In one of the draft reports prepared by Cashin Associates P.C., the Hauppauge consulting firm leading the feasibility study, it notes: “The Town of Hempstead issues non-commercial permits for recreational shellfishing to Town residents. The permits are issued annually to Town residents for a fee of $10 and free for senior citizens. In 2023, the Town issued 1,668 recreational permits, 311 Senior Citizen Recreational Permits and 58 Commercial Permits. Twenty-five (25) Non-Commercial Ribbed Mussel Permits and two (2) Commercial Ribbed Mussel permits were issued.”
At a public outreach open house on November 20th, 2024, many of the baymen were frustrated that their voices and opinions were heard or presented to the decision makers.
Let me be clear – I do think oyster farming makes for cleaner waters, and I believe it can have a positive effect when executed properly in the right location and conditions. I did have additional thoughts and questions:
- Is Hempstead Bay the right bay to be doing this in?
- Are the appropriate stakeholders being notified timely for this potential change, and is there an equitable, effective, and efficient means to gather their input?
- Would New York State perform an Environment Impact Assessment, which is where local/regional/state governments equally examine the environmental impacts for this specific project?
- Could the amount of oysters filtering algae have an impact on the nutrients taken from the water, which then negatively impact the other bivalves or species sharing the same space? How can that be prevented?
- Am I ok with having my public access limited for the privatization of those same waters where I go to harvest a meal or decompress from a jam packed week?
I do know that the tin or bucktail I cast for bass or fluke would be tangled with oyster pots if I were to cast in a few of those 14 proposed oyster farming sites. I also know that the baymen who literally scratch a part of their living would be impacted because of limited space and workability of waters. The year-round certified shellfish grounds are not that large, and certain channels have currents so strong, one could hardly hold bottom. The proposed oyster farm areas (white) and kelp farm areas (green) from Cashin Associate P.C.’s report is below:
Below is a closer look at where the proposed oyster farms may be located. In the Town of Hempstead survey, those filling out the form can select which area they think works best/worst.
The final image below illustrates how small the year-round certified are is.
Projections, feasibility studies, and anecdotal experiences may shape that nebulous idea of the impacts commercial kelp and oyster farming will have on our bays and the maritime traditions that continue to take place within them.
One may think “Well, I don’t make my living from the water.” Keep in mind, you get to enjoy these resources as well. You don’t have to be a recreational angler, birder, boater, bayman or oyster farmer to appreciate Hempstead Bay. Let’s take it a step further – your kids or grandkids may find that serenity where they can meander through a shallow bay away from their LED screens without limitations, especially as Nassau County becomes denser and more developed.
The world should be their oyster. Is it still, if the privatization of public lands limits the natural resources future generations can enjoy?
I would highly encourage residents and stakeholders to educate themselves by reading the draft reports and talking with others that frequent their time on the water. Speak with your baymen and oyster farmers. Let your opinions be known to your local legislators. They may very well be the ones voting on such a license.
Take the survey through this link: https://hempsteadny.gov/1089/Aquaculture-License-Feasibility-Study which will close Tuesday December 31st, 2024.
