Shellfish Aquaculture in Delaware’s Inland Bays Status, Opportunities, and Constraints Compiled and edited by John W. Ewart Delaware Sea Grant Program College of Earth, Ocean and Environment (CEOE) University of Delaware 700 Pilottown Road Lewes, DE 19958 In cooperation with Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB) Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) July 2013 Shellfish Aquaculture in Delaware’s Inland Bays Status, Opportunities, and Constraints TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………... 3 Dedication …………………………………………………………………................. 4 Executive Summary....................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction and Overview of Aquaculture ………………………………………….. 8 2. Historical Background on Shellfish in Delaware …..................................................... 10 3. Delaware’s Inland Bays and the National Estuary Program ……………………........ 14 4. Inland Bays Shellfish Aquaculture Research and Demonstration ……………....……15 4.1 Seasonal Hard Clam and Oyster Growth and Survival (1998 – 2001) …………........ 15 4.2 Establishment and Evaluation of a Pilot-scale 1/4 acre Oyster Reef …………..……. 17 at the James Farm (2001-2006) 4.3 Bivalve Shellfish Stock Assessment in Little Assawoman Bay (2002-2003) ...…….. 19 4.4 Little Assawoman Bay Hard Clam and Oyster Growth (2003-2005) …………..…… 20 4.5 Center for the Inland Bays Oyster Gardening Program (2003-2013) …………..…… 21 4.6 Oyster Habitat Research (2005-2013) ……………………………………………..... 23 4.7 Inland Bays Hard Clam Survey (2010-2011) ……………………………………..… 24 4.8 Shellfish Research and Demonstration Summary ……………..……………………. 25 5. Environmental and Ecological Benefits of Shellfish Aquaculture ……………....….. 26 6. Shellfish Aquaculture and Economic Development …………………………....…... 29 7. Constraints Affecting Inland Bays Shellfish Aquaculture ………………………….. 32 7.1 State and Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Authority …………………………...….. 33 7.2 Socio-Economic Issues ……………………………………………………………… 35 8. Regulatory/Policy Review and Marine Spatial Planning …………………………… 36 9. Aquaculture Legislation (HB160) and Future Development ……………………….. 39 10. References ……………………………………………………………………….….. 41 - 2 - Acknowledgements The purpose of this report is to provide Delaware coastal residents, businesses, and state policy makers with a review of the science-based technical information used to support Inland Bays shellfish resource management decision-making, and development the shellfish aquaculture legislative initiative HB 160 An Act to Amend Title 3 and Title 7 of The Delaware Code Relating to Aquaculture. This review and discussion of the status, opportunities and constraints with regard to shellfish aquaculture in Delaware’s Inland Bays would not be possible without the contributions and assistance of the following individuals (in alphabetical order), institutions, organizations, and state agencies: Chris Bason, Sally Boswell, EJ Chalabala, Roy Miller, Zac Moffitt, and Bart Wilson, Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB) John Ewart, Jim Falk, and Ed Lewandowski, Delaware Sea Grant College Program, and Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service (DSGMAS) Bryan Bloch, Mike Bott, John Clark, Rick Cole, Nick Couch, Scott Figurski, Debbie Rouse, Dave Saveikis, Gene Shaner, Jeff Tinsman, and Richard Wong, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Mark Davis, and Ed Kee, Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) Steve Copp, Delaware Shellfish Advisory Council Patrick Erbland, Johnna Fay, Frank Marenghi, Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay, and Brian Reckenbeil, Delaware State University (DSU) Julie Wheatley, Sussex County Economic Development Dr. Robert Rheault, East Coast Shellfish Grower’s Association (ECSGA) (Rhode Island) Don Webster, University of Maryland Extension Tommy Leggett, Chessie Seafood and Aquafarms, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (Virginia) Gef Flimlin, Rutgers Cooperative Extension (New Jersey) Captain Bill Baker, Bill’s Sport Shop Lewes, Delaware Michael Morgan, Delaware Coast Press Bob Dorman and Steve Friend, commercial clammers Rob Robinson, and Josh Thompson, prospective shellfish aquaculturists John W. Ewart, Editor Delaware Sea Grant Program Lewes, Delaware - 3 - Dedication This report is dedicated to: Dave “The Clam Man” Monte (1930-1996). Dave’s foresight about the potential for shellfish aquaculture in the Inland Bays, and his hard work over many years to successfully cultivate hard clams with his family business “Mercenaria Manufacturing” serves as a model and an inspiration to others with similar interests. The following individuals also warrant special recognition for their important contributions to Inland Bays shellfish aquaculture and the research and demonstration work summarized in this report: John D. “Jack” Pingree (1958-2008). Jack was the Manager of the Shellfish and Recreational Water Branch for the State of Delaware-Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Jack was a constant advocate for the shellfish industry and served on the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) Executive Board representing the State of Delaware. His key support at the beginning of the field research work in 1998 to evaluate and improve the shellfish resources of the Inland Bays will always be remembered and appreciated. Jim Alderman (retired). Jim served as the Center for the Inland Bays Restoration Coordinator and Manager of the James Farm Ecological Preserve on Indian River Bay from 1998 to 2008. Jim’s commitment to improve the bay’s shellfish resources and his great relationships with coastal community residents and local businesses providing their support, materials and supplies, and other in-kind services was instrumental to the progress of the shellfish field research and demonstration work at the James Farm and other field sites around the estuary. Finally, many thanks and much appreciation to all of the Sussex County waterfront residents on Rehoboth, Indian River, and Little Assawoman Bays past and present who have volunteered their valuable time to participate in the Center for the Inland Bays Oyster Gardening Program. - 4 - Executive Summary World population growth and economic development trends are principal drivers of a steadily increasing demand for high quality, nutritional seafood products. With wild capture fisheries at their maximum sustainable harvest capacity of 100 million metric tons, aquaculture, the husbandry or controlled cultivation of aquatic plants and animals, has been bridging the expanding gap between rising demand and static traditional seafood sources. Farmed seafood currently accounts for approximately 50 percent of overall production in the global marketplace. The U.S. aquaculture industry, valued at over $1.1 billion, produces a diversity of fish and shellfish species for food, recreation, and industrial applications. Bivalve shellfish such as oysters, clams and mussels represent 20 percent of domestic production value. This percentage continues to grow along with increasing recognition of the nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits associated with shellfish aquaculture. Historical accounts of oysters and clams as a food staple and a product of commerce in Delaware date back to pre-colonial times. The commercial oyster fishery in Delaware Bay originated in the early 1800s and reached its production peak following World War II from 1947 until 1957, when a devastating disease caused by the protozoan parasite MSX or Multi-Nucleated Sphere Unknown (Haplosporidium nelsoni) destroyed 95 percent of the oyster resource. Chronic losses from MSX were compounded by the arrival in 1990 of a second deadly parasite, Perkinsus marinus, causing “Dermo” disease. In 2001, the State of Delaware authorized a “direct harvest” fishery from the natural seed beds as a countermeasure to maintain the remaining oyster resource and industry. During the post-war period in the Delaware Inland Bays more than 4,000 acres of bottom in Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay were also being leased for oyster production. Utilization of bottom lease acreage declined during the 1950s and 1960s due to disease related losses, and reduced availability of seed oysters. By 1978 there was no remaining oyster production or available seed oyster supply. Based on this and the ongoing conflict with the public hard clam fishery, the DNREC Shellfisheries Management Plan for Indian River, Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay (March 15, 1979) recommended that the Delaware General Assembly return all remaining bottom leases back to state/public ownership. That revision from private commercial leases to “public” bottom remains unchanged to the present time. Delaware's three “Inland” bays (Indian River, Rehoboth and Little Assawoman) comprise 32 square miles (20,480 acres) of surface waters within a 320 square mile watershed. The cumulative impact of sustained agricultural and suburban development and associated nutrient input has degraded estuarine water quality and habitat, and has reduced diversity and abundance of various species of fishes, invertebrates and submerged aquatic vegetation. In 1994 the Delaware General Assembly established the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB), a non- profit participant in the National Estuary Program (NEP), to develop a management plan for stewardship of the estuary and its indigenous flora and fauna. Maintaining healthy populations of bivalve shellfish for their ecological, recreational and commercial value to Delaware’s Inland