November 21, 2018 — A local group of commercial fishermen asked the Maine Department of Marine Resources to throw out Mere Point Oyster Co.’s application for a 10-year, 40-acre lease in the middle of Maquoit Bay on the grounds that they are “rightfully entitled to use this space for fishing.”

“Why should we go away so a couple of people can use it exclusively?” Tom Santaguida asked the department at a public hearing Monday night.

The meeting marked the second night of the hearing over the company’s proposed expansion, which would increase its annual oyster harvest from about 60,000 this year to more than 1.5 million within three years. The department will evaluate the lease on factors like navigation, fishing and other uses, as well as noise and visual impact. The hearing will stretch into a third night, which has not yet been scheduled. The Concerned Citizens of Maquoit Bay, who began their testimony on Thursday, will resume at the next hearing.

The commercial fishermen, represented by Santaguida and John Powers, argued that the proposed 40-acre site is one that is fished often and at different times can be extremely lucrative.

Read the full story at The Portland Press Herald