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Friends of the Bay's Statement on the Expiration of the Frank M. Flower & Sons Lease
For more than a century, the Town of Oyster Bay has leased a large portion of the bay bottom in Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor to commercial shellfish companies. That chapter ended on Sept. 30th with the expiration of a lease to the Frank M. Flower and Sons oyster company, the last and most successful in a long series of lease-holders.
The lease expiration offers a once-in-many lifetimes opportunity to help restore the bay and its dwindling shellfish populations for many generations to come. Friends of the Bay is anxious to help.
While most bays on both the north and south shores had similar lease arrangements in the past and thriving shellfish populations, the Flower company was the only one that survived for decades after others failed.
In the years since the current lease was enacted, questions arose as to the overall impact of Flower’s operations on the bay. In the past few years, we concluded that they were not sustainable – especially since Flower had shut down its hatchery in 2019 but continued to harvest shellfish in the bay without putting anything back. In addition, they harvested a large natural set of clams in Mill Neck Creek that had been closed by the state to shellfishing for transplanting out to the bay and eventual harvest. We felt that the Flower operation should not continue and worked with the Town of Oyster Bay in its legal efforts to accomplish that.
Now that Flower is gone, there is an opportunity to do something new that should help the bay recover after the town and others study conditions on the former leased lands and throughout the bay during a moratorium that we hope the town board will approve tomorrow. The moratorium would not affect the current situation of commercial and recreational harvesting in areas outside the formerly leased area.
We believe it is important to take the time to survey those lands, the condition of them, and what remains on them, before they are reopened for harvesting.
In recent years, the shellfish industry both on Long Island and around the nation has changed. Nearly everywhere, shellfish are now grown in off-bottom cages that not only help protect the shellfish from predators, but avoid the need to disturb the bottom. In addition, there is increased recognition of the benefits of restoring oyster reefs for the health of waterbodies. They greatly help reduce excess nitrogen, mitigate against coastal erosion and storm damage, and provide habitat for numerous other marine creatures. The expiration of the lease provides the opportunity for all of this to occur. But it must be done correctly, in the right places, and at the right scale to succeed. This is why the town plans to have Cashin Associates study the bay and work with others before deciding on what to do with the formerly leased area.
Friends of the Bay has been working with the town, Stony Brook University, Adelphi University, the Nature Conservancy, the PEW Charitable Trust, local Protection Committees and others to determine the best method, locations, and acreage needed to rebuild shellfish populations.
We also worked with the town to amend its shellfish ordinance to establish the ability to designate for the first time shellfish sanctuary areas where oyster and clam populations can remain protected so that they can help restore populations in the bay.
We have also supported the town’s creation of a new large shellfish hatchery which is needed for this and other harbors in the town.
In short, a new day is here. Friends of the Bay is excited about the opportunities that this brings and we continue to strive to be part of the solutions.
The lease expiration offers a once-in-many lifetimes opportunity to help restore the bay and its dwindling shellfish populations for many generations to come. Friends of the Bay is anxious to help.
While most bays on both the north and south shores had similar lease arrangements in the past and thriving shellfish populations, the Flower company was the only one that survived for decades after others failed.
In the years since the current lease was enacted, questions arose as to the overall impact of Flower’s operations on the bay. In the past few years, we concluded that they were not sustainable – especially since Flower had shut down its hatchery in 2019 but continued to harvest shellfish in the bay without putting anything back. In addition, they harvested a large natural set of clams in Mill Neck Creek that had been closed by the state to shellfishing for transplanting out to the bay and eventual harvest. We felt that the Flower operation should not continue and worked with the Town of Oyster Bay in its legal efforts to accomplish that.
Now that Flower is gone, there is an opportunity to do something new that should help the bay recover after the town and others study conditions on the former leased lands and throughout the bay during a moratorium that we hope the town board will approve tomorrow. The moratorium would not affect the current situation of commercial and recreational harvesting in areas outside the formerly leased area.
We believe it is important to take the time to survey those lands, the condition of them, and what remains on them, before they are reopened for harvesting.
In recent years, the shellfish industry both on Long Island and around the nation has changed. Nearly everywhere, shellfish are now grown in off-bottom cages that not only help protect the shellfish from predators, but avoid the need to disturb the bottom. In addition, there is increased recognition of the benefits of restoring oyster reefs for the health of waterbodies. They greatly help reduce excess nitrogen, mitigate against coastal erosion and storm damage, and provide habitat for numerous other marine creatures. The expiration of the lease provides the opportunity for all of this to occur. But it must be done correctly, in the right places, and at the right scale to succeed. This is why the town plans to have Cashin Associates study the bay and work with others before deciding on what to do with the formerly leased area.
Friends of the Bay has been working with the town, Stony Brook University, Adelphi University, the Nature Conservancy, the PEW Charitable Trust, local Protection Committees and others to determine the best method, locations, and acreage needed to rebuild shellfish populations.
We also worked with the town to amend its shellfish ordinance to establish the ability to designate for the first time shellfish sanctuary areas where oyster and clam populations can remain protected so that they can help restore populations in the bay.
We have also supported the town’s creation of a new large shellfish hatchery which is needed for this and other harbors in the town.
In short, a new day is here. Friends of the Bay is excited about the opportunities that this brings and we continue to strive to be part of the solutions.
Friends of the Bay and the Town of Oyster Bay install a Cleanup Station at Centre Island Beach
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Friends of the Bay and the Town of Oyster Bay Parks Department installed a self-service cleanup station at Centre Island Beach in Bayville, the first of its kind in the town.
The installation coincided with International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 21 where it was used for the first time during a beach cleanup we co-hosted with The Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center.
This cleanup station will remain year-round on the Long Island Sound side of Centre Island Beach.
Keeping our beaches clean is an ongoing job. Our hope is that the cleanup station will inspire people to pick up litter every time they visit the beach. It can be a surprisingly gratifying activity for people of all ages and thankfully there are a growing number of people who want to do it.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND SOUND
by Jennifer Wilson-Pines
-Originally published in The Island Now
Photo credit: Jennifer Wilson-Pines
