NIANTIC, Conn. (WTNH) — On a small barge-like vessel in the Niantic River you see some of Tim Londregan’s shellfishing operation, which he hopes to grow.
He is now looking to expand his Niantic Bay Shellfish Farm and has already been approved by the Waterford-East Lyme Shellfish Commission to lease 6 and half acres on the southernmost sandbar in the river.
“As I told the commission, I would have quit a long time If I didn’t want to have a positive impact,” said Londregan.
But he still needs Army Corps of Engineer approval for the gear, which includes trays along with racks, which Londregan says will take up about a quarter of the site and be monitored by the DEEP.
“They are going to require certain buoys or navigational affects to whatever degree they determine necessary to alert boaters,” said Londregan.
But Robin and Terry Lineberger who live on the Waterford side of the river are worried about safety.
“If somebody were to go in there, they could definitely collide with it,” said Robin Lineberger.
He says they’ve rescued several boaters stranded on the sandbar. He also says kayakers and small boats forced to go around the farm will have to go into the channel with bigger boats or this mooring field.
“You will see these 6,500 racks nearly 4,000 of them above water for 13 hours a day,” said Lineberger.
Londregan says this area is safer than six other shellfishing sites he could have chosen which were in mooring fields, used by water skiers, or right outside the channel.
“Not going to put it there in case somebody strays out,” said Londregan.
“If the business doesn’t succeed whose responsibility is it to remove all the infrastructure?” asks Lineberger.
Londregan says his business is good for the community. He’s already working to bring back the Niantic Bay Scallop and says shellfish clean out toxins in the water.
“It’s the largest privately funded public water filter out there,” said Londregan.
The Army Corps of Engineers is accepting comment from the public through August 29th.