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Easing Restrictions on Aquaculture Causes Concerns

creative commons

The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed to ease the restrictions on oyster aquaculture.

The plan now open for public comment would make it easier for those applying for aquaculture permits and would eliminate size restrictions.

WBOC reports that some say this is a wave of the future.

But local watermen are expressing their concerns.

They fear this could open up the region for large companies to stake a claim on large portions of the Bay.

An application for these permits would take only 60 day and would allow applicants to take as much acreage as they wanted.

Under current regulations it can take up to 8 months to get approval and an applicant can only have up to 5 acres of cages.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.