| "If nobody in the government knew, imagine the industry's perspective." | |
| Susan Snow-Cotter, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management |
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The amount of farm-raised seafood found on America's dinner tables is rising as the public demands more seafood and fishermen struggle with decreasing catches. Despite its economic promise, aquaculture has not been warmly welcomed by some coastal communities due to concerns ranging from user conflicts to potential environmental impacts. A comprehensive initiative in Massachusetts to understand and address the issues of this burgeoning industry has improved regulations, education, and support.
"It's a great issue for coastal zone managers, particularly in highly developed areas like Massachusetts, because it's all about conflicting uses and trying to manage conflicting user groups," says Susan Snow-Cotter, assistant director of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. "That's why our office got involved."
In 1994, the governor tapped the coastal program to coordinate a strategic planning process that resulted in a white paper and plan describing aquaculture in the state, identifying barriers to development, and proposing 68 recommendations to jump-start the industry. Since the release of the plan, Snow-Cotter says, a majority of the recommendations have been implemented and new initiatives have been undertaken, including the development of a geographic information system database to help assist with aquaculture siting.
Continuing Tradition
Massachusetts has a long history with aquaculture, says Snow-Cotter. Native Americans, and later colonists, were the first to cultivate aquatic species there. In the 1970s and 80s, commercial marine aquaculture ventures were begun, primarily producing hard clams and oysters, with small quantities of scallops, soft-shell clams, and mussels. By the 1990s, however, the state found its industry lagging behind that of other Northeastern states. When the wild fishing industry began a steep decline, the state's interest in aquaculture for its economic potential and as a means of continuing the area's fishing traditions was ignited.
After being charged with initiating the strategic planning process, the coastal program coordinated three working groups comprised of representatives from other state agencies to work with industry groups, local officials, scientists, and environmental activists. What was found, she says, was that the potential for aquaculture to flourish in the state was constrained by several factors, including regulatory roadblocks, business climate, and user conflicts.
In October 1995, after meeting extensively for six months, the group released its lengthy list of recommendations, which included initiating regulatory streamlining, designating a lead state agency, appointing an aquaculture coordinator, forming three technical support centers, and funding programs.
Today, aquaculture is estimated to be a $10 million a year industry in the state. Snow-Cotter notes that production is often underreported, and the actual figure could be "at least three times as big."
Slippery Shores
Even with the state's support, commercial marine aquaculture has had a challenging time getting a foothold in Massachusetts. The biggest obstacle for managers has been user conflicts.
The coastal aquaculture industry in Massachusetts operates using a mix of state-owned submerged lands, public tidelands, and private tidelands, which unlike those of most states extend to the low-water line. Because of this, "conflicting use is huge," Snow-Cotter says. "There are lots of disputes at the local level."
While there are conflicts with traditional fishermen and recreational users, "a lot of opposition comes from people who live right on the water," says Dale Leavitt, technical coordinator for the Southeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture Center. "People who own trophy homes don't want to look out and see that kind of activity in their million dollar view."
The state's regulatory process was also constraining the growth of the industry, Snow-Cotter says. "One of the biggest complaints was that nobody knew where to go at the state level. Several agencies had discrete pieces of responsibility, but nobody could give me the whole picture. If nobody in the government knew, imagine the industry's perspective."
The state was fortunate that many environmental questions that seem to plague this relatively young industry are less of a concern in Massachusetts because its coastal aquaculture industry focuses primarily on bivalves. Poorly managed finfish farming can produce a flow of waste effluent containing feces and uneaten feed that many environmentalists fear will contribute to the pollution of coastal waters.
"Of the 450 aquaculture permits we have in the state, almost 400 are for marine shellfish aquaculture," says Scott Soares, the aquaculture coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture. All but one of the finfish culture operations are inland.
"In general, the environmental impacts are fairly minor with shellfish, and one could argue that they have a beneficial impact," says Cliff Goudey, research engineer for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant College Program. "With filter feeders you generally see a net improvement and reduction of nutrients in the water column."
Under the state's microscope, however, are environmental issues such as the accidental introduction of foreign species, disease, or parasites, Goudey says. "The regulations are pretty clear; if there is even a slight chance of release into the environment, use indigenous species, period."
He adds, "Experience suggests that with cultured finfish there may be an increased occurrence of fish disease due to the stress associated with fish being confined. But typically, the disease or parasite is naturally occurring in the environment, and aquaculture is a victim rather than a cause."
Soares notes, "I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to assume there is no impact from the development of these types of facilities. The question is what is the environmental and economic cost/benefit of setting up a particular operation, or type of aquaculture."
Luring the Industry
Over the past five years, Snow-Cotter says, 80 percent of the aquaculture plan's 68 recommendations have been entirely or partially implemented. As a result, the industry has grown in the state from 645 acres in 1994 to 1,200 acres today.
Some of the efforts undertaken to help ease the permit process include the Department of Food and Agriculture being designated the lead state agency and the hiring of Soares as the state's coordinator. All the permits necessary for aquaculture were identified, and guidance documents were created for applicants. A new step in the permit process is a pre-permit application meeting that involves representatives from all appropriate regulatory agencies to answer questions and concerns up front.
Technical assistance and educational activities ranging from aquaculture in the classroom to community outreach efforts have been successfully undertaken by the three regional state aquaculture centers. A grants program encouraging environmentally responsible aquaculture projects that can demonstrate public and industry benefit has been implemented.
The state coastal program also led an effort to develop the Massachusetts Ocean Resources Information System (MORIS) CD-ROM, which is an ArcView®-based comprehensive database that can assist people interested in starting an aquaculture business, as well as decision makers, in siting aquaculture operations in Massachusetts' coastal waters. Work is under way to put the information on-line, and to expand the project to include information such as boundaries of jurisdictional areas and benthic habitat.
"The state has been very responsive in doing what I think is a pretty good job of working with the industry to promote aquaculture in a reasonable and sustainable way," says Dale Leavitt. "The bottom line is that it's a way for a lot of folks in coastal communities, particularly rural communities, to make a living."
For more information on Massachusetts' efforts to address aquaculture, contact Susan Snow-Cotter at (617) 626-1202 or susan.snow-cotter@state.ma.us. You may also contact Scott Soares at (617) 626-1730 or scott.soares@state.ma.us, Dale Leavitt at (508) 830-6478 or semac@mma.mass.edu, or Cliff Goudey at (617) 253-7079 or cgoudey@mit.edu. You can also point your browser to www.state.ma.us/czm/aquatoc.htm, www.massdfa.org/markets/aquaculture/index.htm, or mit.edu/seagrant/.
