Oysters v. Red Knots, Working on Accord

GREEN CREEK – The humble oyster is getting some respect; not only for its taste, but also for what it can do for the region’s economy. While the future is bright on that front, there’s conflict on the bayfront. Oyster growers struggle with a myriad of state regulations, complicated as they try to weave through regulations set by many agencies, all while living peaceably with the red knot.
Legislation to bring accord with the red knot and its federal protectors, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) with five companion bills in the Assembly introduced by Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (D-1st), who chairs the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and Assemblyman Bruce Land (D-1st).
Van Drew told the Herald those bills stemmed from the Economic Development Committee he formed.
“This is part of a bigger picture that tells a story, I believe, that is a microcosm of why, at times in New Jersey, we have difficulties moving forward with intelligent economic development,” Van Drew said.
Senate Resolution S-30 “Urges U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) to resolve conflict between protection of red knot shorebird and economic viability of State’s oyster industry,” according to the bill’s synopsis. The bill was sponsored by Van Drew.
An Assembly version, AR-34 had its second reading Feb. 8.
However, another of Andrzejczak’s bills, AJR-24 would declare aquaculture “To be an important economic driver for the state, and therefore the state is urged to include the industry in its economic development plans.”
As slowly as oysters grow in the salty Delaware Bay from seed, originated at the North Cape May Rutgers Aquaculture Innovation Center, to size large enough to harvest, it may take that long for any or all introduced legislation to be finalized.
As Van Drew noted, “What we found out when we had meetings, while New Jersey has done fine with the industry, it is really stagnant.” He cited other states, such as Virginia, whose aquaculture industry “has grown on multiple levels over New Jersey.”
Many parties must agree with the concept that aquaculture (locally a.k.a. oyster growers) and the migrating bird, can peacefully coexist.
Van Drew cited the bureaucracy New Jersey oyster growers must navigate as “unbelievably complex and serpentine.”
What the legislators’ collective aim via the package of bills is “to attempt to streamline the application process and yet at the same time ensure we save the environment, the red knots and crabs. The shellfish industry tends to clean the environment,” Van Drew said.
“I feel strongly about this. Nobody wants to hurt the environment. We want this to be a place where people can live and where future generations stay and live and earn a decent living. So we looked at this (aquaculture) area,” the senator continued.
While many agencies on the federal and state level are involved, Van Drew said at times, some of those agencies contradict each other, or counter what an applicant has been previously told by another section of the same department.
The red knots annually travel from the tip of South America to the Arctic Circle, stopping in the Delaware Bay region in spring to fatten up on horseshoe crab eggs to continue its flight.
There is concern that oyster operations may hinder the bird from that necessary pattern. Signs are posted along the bayfront warning trespassers away while the shorebirds are feeding on those eggs in early spring.
Van Drew’s bill notes the red knot’s flight, and also adds that Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties act as a “critical migratory stopover” for over 300 species of birds, “many threatened and endangered species…”
All the ecological facts notwithstanding, “In addition to its unique ecological importance, the Delaware Bayshore region is also home to much of the state’s shellfish production, including the state’s growing oyster industry, which contributes millions of dollars in economic activity for the state each year,” the bill states.
It also notes the former “tremendous oyster industry” that was devastated by disease and other causes, but is not making a recovery.
It notes “Oyster aquaculture requires regular access to the tidal flats in order to maintain the bag-and-rack systems used to grow oysters, including daily access to the racks to pressure-wash the oysters to keep them healthy.”
Realizing the need to strike a balance between both red knot and oyster industry, the bill seeks the regulatory agencies to “Take action to resolve any conflict between protection of the red knot and the economic viability of the state’s oyster industry.”
In a Feb. 8 release, Andrzejczak, who last year toured the oyster-growing facilities here and elsewhere along the Delaware bayfront, stated again, “What we want to do here in New Jersey and in my committee is take the state’s perception of aquaculture and bring it more toward agriculture as a farming industry.”
Andrzejczak’s panel is weighing five pieces of legislation that seeks to clarify requirements for new and present aquaculture research, farming and tourism. Under its present definition, aquaculture is “the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of animals and plants in all types of water environments including ponds, rivers, lakes, bays, and the ocean…” He stressed his desire to heighten the profile of aquaculture in the state “to bring the practice more in line with the public’s perception of farming and terrestrial agriculture.”
Andrzejczak continued, “I feel like aquaculture could be a huge potential for the entire state. We’re looking for a new industry and new ways to grow the economy here in New Jersey and right now we are at a perfect location to do that. And the oyster industry has plenty of potential to expand and really grow small business and put people to work, but at the same time bring in revenue for the state.”
None of this is lost on county government. Freeholder Will Morey, who heads economic development, has kept oysters in the limelight along with the county’s wineries as two new avenues of economic growth.
In a Feb. 4 meeting of the Coalition of Civic Associations (COCA), Carole Mattessich, county economic development coordinator, told the group that local oyster farmers have established a strong regional market, with Atlantic Cape Fisheries selling its oysters in California.
While the farmers have harvested over 1 million oysters annually, she said it is possible that the number could increase to 10 million.
She also cited how the county recently assisted the oyster growers’ cooperative to secure a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to acquire a refrigerated van to transport its oysters safely to market.
At present, oyster farmers face not only the rigors of nature, freezing winds and rough water, but also 13 state agencies that they must deal with in order to acquire permits to operate.
Mattessich said Morey had contacted Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno on behalf of the growers to underscore the county’s concerns with the over-regulation they face, and how underrepresented they are with it comes to dealing with the issue of the red knot migration.
DEP recently told the oyster farmers they would be expected to shut down their work for about six weeks annually to accommodate the migratory birds.