Local aquaculturist David Cheney and Dept. of Marine Resources biologist Jon Lewis expressed concern about the potential spread of the oyster disease MSX to Johns River at a Sept. 21 public hearing in South Bristol.
The Dept. of Marine Resources (DMR) quarantined Damariscotta River and Johns River oysters in Oct. 2010 after confirming the presence of the disease in the Damariscotta River.
The Johns River connects to the Damariscotta via The Gut, a narrow channel in downtown South Bristol. The quarantine prohibits oyster farmers from moving oysters in the two rivers to other bodies of water.
Lewis and other DMR officials, while conducting a site review, a requirement of Cheney’s application to expand one of his existing Johns River leases, tested Cheney’s oysters and found a “weak positive” result in about one of 20 oysters.
MSX, while deadly to oysters, doesn’t affect humans.
The disease has decimated the crops of some Damariscotta River farmers, with some experiencing 90-95 percent mortality rates, Cheney said. Other areas, including Cheney’s nurseries in the Blackstone Narrows near the entrance to Great Salt Bay, show no sign of MSX.
The overall mortality rate throughout the Damariscotta River stands at about 30 percent, Lewis said.
Cheney, who owns Johns River Oyster Company and is the sole oyster farmer in the river, expressed a commitment to “operate legally and ethically as far as the disease goes.”
“I have a vested interest” in “the ecology and the health of the North branch,” Cheney said later, referring to concerns about his proposal to drag the lease.
“There’s no way that I would hurt the environment there because there’s no one it would hurt more than myself.”
The public hearing at the South Bristol town office brought out 20-plus people, including DMR and municipal officials, friends and relatives of Cheney, and a lawyer representing a nearby landowner.
Cheney plans to expand a 1.85-acre “experimental” lease to a 4.2-acre “standard” lease, according to DMR documents.
The application is for bottom culture, meaning Cheney would plant seed oysters on the river floor and dive or drag to harvest the oysters. He wouldn’t use floating gear.
The fledgling aquaculture business barely pays for itself, according to Cheney’s application, in which he describes himself as “a third generation, full-time fisherman dedicated to earning a sustainable livelihood from the ocean.”
Cheney also lobsters and digs clams, although he hopes to grow his oyster business. “There’s a high demand for a high quality product,” he said.
Cheney, of New Harbor, said he chooses to farm in Johns River partly because “it’s close to my home” and, as such, makes for “a good place to start out and test my techniques.”
Cheney also has surface nurseries on the Eastern Branch of the river. The floor of the North Branch, however, “is the best place to grow oysters in Johns River,” he said.
Marcia DeGeer, the attorney representing John Walker, said her client has concerns about the effect of dragging on other aquatic life, including clams and lobsters.
Cheney and Lewis debunked most concerns. “For the most part, lobsters are going to get the heck out of the way” of Cheney’s dragging equipment, Lewis said.
At the close of the hearing, DMR Aquaculture Hearings Officer Diantha Robinson said she would draft a decision for review by Cheney and DMR acting Commissioner Pat Keliher.