10/27/2021
Supervisor Saladino and Councilwoman Michele Johnson
Politics as Usual
Pandering for Votes and Photo OPS
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RF2sTSDU-og6SIC_9lmy1b2WO53PWnO1/edit #
Oyster Bay Harbor, the most productive shellfish ground in New York State, has been under siege unbeknownst to most. Moon Snails have recently decimated the hard clam population in the outer harbor. The only area of the harbor that has been spared by this onslaught is Mill Neck Creek.
As part of Frank M. Flower and Sons current and historic lease with the Town of Oyster Bay, FMF has been paying fees on approximately 62 acres west of the Bayville Bridge in Mill Neck Creek. While this area (known as Lot 1) has been closed to shellfishing in the past, the steady increase in water quality over the past several decades has presented FMF the opportunity to harvest the company’s shellfish located there. This resource would provide FMF the opportunity to keep its business flourishing and its workers employed until a lease agreement can be made. Unfortunately, once again the Town of Oyster Bay politicians, through inaction and the fear of political fallout, have blocked every attempt that FMF has made to obtain permits to work Lot 1. In Flower’s current lease, it states: ”Lessee shall have the sole right to all shellfish on the lands leased herein”. How is it that a “landlord” can accept money for leased space over decades but then turn around and prevent the lessee from utilizing what has been paid for? In reality, the Town of Oyster Bay doesn’t have that much control over the harbor in an operational and legislative capacity. Also, they lack documented expertise in marine science and aquaculture practices.
In 1968 ownership of most of Oyster Bay Harbor was transferred to the U.S. Department of Interior (administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) for the establishment of the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When these lands were conveyed to the federal government, the Town retained authority over 1) Existing leases and agreements and 2) Permits for the taking of shellfish OUTSIDE the leased areas. FMF has NEVER had to obtain shellfishing permits from the Town, that authority lies with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
There is a document called the “Model Ordinance”, or the “National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish”. This nationally (and internationally) recognized and federally enforced guidebook breaks down exactly which agency has the authority over different aspect of the shellfish industry. The following are a few excerpts from the 2019 Model Ordinance:
National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish 2019
Section I. Purpose & Definitions
Definitions
(10) Authority means the State or local shellfish control authority or authorities or its designated agents, which are responsible for the enforcement of this Code.
FMF is required to have NYS permits because NYS is considered the “Authority”.
Chapter I. Shellfish Sanitation Program Requirements for the Authority [Note: The Authority must meet the requirements of this section even if the Authority does not formally adopt this section in regulation.]
@.01 Administration A. Scope.
(1) The Authority shall establish a statewide shellfish safety and sanitation program to regulate: (a) The classification of shellfish growing areas
(b) The harvesting of shellfish
Chapter VIII. Control of Shellfish Harvesting
Requirements for the Authority
@.01 Control of Shellstock Growing Areas
B. Patrol of Growing Areas.
(5) The Authority may delegate patrol activity to any State or local enforcement authority.
This is essentially the only control over the shellfish grounds that the Town has.
C. Licensing of Harvesting.
(1) The Authority shall assure that a license is required to commercially harvest shellstock, including shellstock harvested from aquaculture.
Again, why FMF is required to have NYS permits.
(6) The Authority shall inform each licensed harvester as to: (a) The classification and current status assigned to each growing area; and (b) The methods used to notify harvesters of changes in growing area status or classification
We only get these notifications from NYSDEC.
D. Identification of Certain Growing Areas.
(1) The Authority shall chart, describe, and mark the boundaries of growing areas classified as restricted, conditionally restricted, or prohibited, or in a closed status.
Done by the NYSDEC, not the Town of Oyster Bay
Section III. Public Health Reasons and Explanations
Introduction
2. "In accordance with this principle, it is considered that each producing State is directly responsible for the effective regulation of all production and handling of shellfish within its confines…
The State is “directly responsible”
So why is it that the Town of Oyster Bay politicians feel that it is acceptable to block Frank M. Flowers from working in Mill Neck Creek, ignore the company’s wish to renew the shellfish leases, and put a 130 plus year old shellfish company OUT OF BUSINESS? Because no one has questioned their authority until now.
SHAME ON YOU JOE SALADINO AND MICHELE JOHNSON
There is a political travesty quietly unfolding right here in Oyster Bay. As mentioned, Frank M. Flower and Sons has been in business for over 130 years. In 2024, their current 30 year lease for the shellfish grounds expires. FMF has been attempting for the last 3 years, in vain, to meet with the Town of Oyster Bay officials about renewing the lease but have been stonewalled by Supervisor Joe Saladino and Councilwoman Michele Johnson.
While Joe has no problem showing up for the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association Fundraiser or appearing in their slanderous documentary based on conjecture and false accusations,
he has refused after three years and dozens of attempts, to sit down and meet with representatives of Frank M. Flower and Sons and discuss the renewal of the lease.
Saladino and Johnson are single handedly forcing Frank M. Flower and Sons out of business by pandering to false, unsubstantiated and misleading theories put forth by members of NOBBA and their representatives. The facts have been obscured and at times manipulated to an end that does not benefit the health of the estuary or environmentally sustainable practices. Without the promise of a new lease agreement, Flowers had to make a difficult decision: to no longer grow shellfish and seed them into the bay. From a business standpoint it would be foolish to invest millions of dollars into a crop that may never be harvested. By the time the shellfish were grown to a marketable size, the leases will have been expired. Without the millions of shellfish planted by Flowers to filter and clean the water of the bay, nitrogen levels will begin to increase exponentially. Without Frank M. Flower’s shellfish farm,
YOUR HARBOR WILL RAPIDLY DIE.
WHERE’D THE SHELLFISH GO, JOE???
As part of the lease agreement, Frank M. Flowers would provide 1,000,000 (yes, one million) seed clams each year for the Town of Oyster Bay (T.O.B.) to plant in the harbor on the public shellfish grounds. While proceeds from the sale of commercial shellfish licenses would buy a small amount of supplemental seed clams and oysters, the Town’s “Shellfish Management Program” could not establish a sustainable fishery because of the unrestricted harvesting pressure from the local baymen.
Although warned by Cashin Associates in multiple Clam Density Survey reports from 2008 to 2018, the T.O.B. Department of Environmental Resources failed on two levels. First, it lacked the appropriate response when informed about harvest pressure and sustainability. Daily landings restrictions should have been more stringent and fully enforced. Instead, the local baymen were allowed through inaction to decimate the stock of public shellfish.
Secondly, the department failed by planting shellfish then not conducting periodic sampling to calculate survival rates or recognize the need for predator controls. When recently asked about this data, George Baptista, Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Resources, did not have an immediate answer. After three and half months, over 100 days, the statement from the Town was that it needed more time to compile the information requested. If monitoring had been done all along, wouldn’t data have been readily available? The reality is that the department planted shellfish- then basically forgot about them. The Town’s Shellfish Management Program has been nothing more than photo-ops for politicians and town workers.
Recently there have been media reports about the Town acquiring market sized oysters and planting them in the bay to “help restore the fishery”. If these oysters survived, where are they? What about all the seed the Town acquired over the years? During the recent “Oyster Bay Day”, spearheaded by Joe Saladino, it was reported that the oysters served at the festival did not come from Oyster Bay. Years of bay management along with millions of taxpayer dollars could not provide a mere 1000 oysters for a one day festival. Instead, the oysters were acquired from Mt. Sinai Harbor! Everyone in Oyster Bay should be asking the same question:
WHERE’D THE SHELLFISH GO, JOE??
