WE HAVE TO STOP THIS!

ALL NEWINGTON RESIDENTS, FRIENDS AND WHO CURRENTLY LIVE WITH THIS MESS WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP.

Fish and Game is going to decide whether to allow floating oyster cages in Broad Cove. This sets the precedent for floating oyster farming throughout Little Bay and Great Bay.

 Gone: will be your ability to kayak, paddleboard, canoe along the Newington shoreline.

 Gone: will be the beautiful sunset while enjoying Lexi’s at Great Bay Marina.

Gone: will be shoreline fishing.

Gone: will be stargazing from boat, these cages have nighttime illumination.

Welcome: the putrid smell of rotting oysters in summertime

Welcome: the beauty of thousands of densely spaced plastic boxes covering acres of pristine waterfront

Here are what several residents are saying to Fish and Game:

Letters of Objection sent to Fish and Game

Ann Hyland Hebert

“I attended the public hearing on April 23, 2024, at the NH Fish & Game office in Durham, NH.   Additional concerns regarding the above-noted permit are detailed below.

The impact of the application submitted by Bayside Oysters Farm LLC to expand their underwater oyster farming to now include floating oyster gear is of paramount concern.  Newington has a limited land area and coastline.  Oyster farmers, including this applicant, already operate several underwater farms in Little Bay.  Expansion of operations to floating oyster gear is untenable.  NH Fish & Game oyster farming permits once granted allow for automatic renewal into perpetuity and once floating gear is approved for this applicant, the distinct possibility that all farms will be converting to this farming is inevitable.  This applicant cannot project site specific gear usage for neighboring oyster farmers and approving floating gear can unquestionably set precedent.

The aesthetics of what remains of Newington’s small pristine shoreline and Little Bay views must be preserved.  Floating illuminated cages utilized by private businesses have far too much impact on residents who are entitled to shared access to our limited waters for recreational activities and personal enjoyment.  Floating gear will certainly limit recreational area access and impact safety by forcing small boaters into deeper outer bay waters with much stronger currents.

This applicant stated that land operations (launching and landing) would be from Great Bay Marina.  Great Bay Marina is a recreational marina not a commercial fishing pier or a commercial marina.  Business operations are not allowed.  In addition, boats utilized for oyster farming have been observed by Newington residents moored for protracted periods of time.  In the high summer boating season additional watercraft have been seen rafting on to farming watercraft.  This does not seem to be best practice as relates to an aquaculture permit in Little Bay.

The Towns of Newington and Durham were involved in significant and extended negotiations concerning eel grass as it related to the Seacoast Reliability Project – the Eversource transmission line that crossed Little Bay.  This project was projected to take 3 years and due to massive environmental and construction considerations brought forth by Newington and Durham (dramatically impacted communities) the project spanned 9 years.  Eversource utilized concrete pads near the shoreline and mitigation efforts required sizeable replanting of eel grass.  This condition of project approval continues to be monitored today.  Newington residents were stopped from floating personal docks to Fox Point for storage in the off season by the Department of Environmental Services due to significant eel grass destruction.  Approval to utilize floating oyster farming gear will further negatively impact eel grass preservation and regeneration.  The importance of eel grass to the overall marine environment in Little Bay cannot be overstated.

As a 30-year resident of Newington and an elected official in the Town of Newington for many years – Fire Engineer – I have inordinate concerns about any floating oyster farming gear, particularly 2 acres of above-water gear, hindering Newington Fire Department water rescue and recovery efforts on our bay. This gear would only serve to exacerbate emergency response directly around and within the gear field.  Response time with our rescue boat for a water emergency would certainly be impacted by above-water oyster gear (particularly during nighttime hours) and lighting will not alleviate this operational deficit.  Fireboat Marine 1 is a large well-equipped vessel whose primary function is life safety and floating oyster gear is clearly an unnecessary obstacle.

I request that the application of Bayside Oysters Farm LLC, Request for Marine Aquaculture Permit 2024 for floating oyster farming gear be denied.  Thank you for your consideration.”

Ann Hyland Hebert

Resident of Newington, NH

Fire Engineer – Newington Fire Department

 

Doug Ross, former Rockingham County Fish and Game Commissioner

“Friends & Neighbors-

Commercial floating oyster crate farming has created significant and ongoing controversy from the Carolinas to Maine. Essentially residents of coastal communities have objected to the unsightly degradation of their coastal area by long lines of floating oyster crates and related staging equipment.  In order to facilitate residents objecting to the expansion of commercial floating oyster crate farming in Little Bay, we have created a Change.org  sign up form. The Change.org link will allow you to express your objection to the current efforts of a Massachusetts based floating oyster crate company to expand its oyster farming operations by installing floating oyster crates. This expansion will impact 2 acres of Little Bay, alongside of Fox Point and Carters Rock Park in Newington. 

This, and the foreseeable future license applications for expansion of commercial floating oyster crate farming will significantly degrade the aesthetics of Little Bay and significantly impact recreational bay activities for residents and tourists (kayaking, paddle boarding, skulling, canoeing, sail boarding, fishing, and other boating activities.)

Commercial oyster farming should remain an underwater enterprise. The NH Department of Fish and Game is accepting public comments for or against this effort to install floating oyster crates. The comment deadline is May 7th. The N.H. Department of Fish and Game pays close attention to public comment before issuing a decision on commercial oyster farming license applications.

Below is the link. Please forward this email to those who you believe would also object to the commercialization of Little Bay with floating oyster crate farming.

Please SAY YOU OBJECT TO ALLOWING FLOATING CAGES BY:

SIGNING THIS PETITION

OR

SENDING AN EMAIL TO: Executive Director NH Fish and Game.