I support aquaculture, but not at Seapowet
Posted Wednesday, August 4, 2021 - Sakonnet Times
To the editor:
My name is Charlie Barmonde and I reside in Tiverton. I am writing to share my objections to the proposed oyster farm in the Seapowet area. My objections are based on two factors.
The first is that this is one of the very few areas open to public recreation along the Sakonnet. As a waterman, all summer long I observe countless small water craft from kayaks, to paddleboards, jet skis, motor boats tubing with families, kiteboarders, windsurfers and sailboats enjoying this pristine waterway. The vast majority of these people are not waterfront property owners, rather they are from all over Rhode Island and the south coast, not to mention the mariners from all over the world who tuck in to this unique waterway for protection or recreation during their journeys. The Seapowet marsh area is a primary access point for many of these activities and the location of acres of aquaculture equipment would impair all of them and would render impossible others such as windsurfing, kiteboarding, and waterskiing where the high speeds and underwater appendages of the craft would make it dangerous. Furthermore their equipment would be damaged by impact with underwater cables and equipment.
Second and more importantly is safety. To illustrate what I mean I will share a personal experience. Two years ago in early June I observed a kiteboarder attempting a downwind journey from Fogland to Seapowet. This is very common among novice kiteboarders who have not yet mastered the ability to sail upwind. I am a mariner myself and always keep an eye out for anyone who might need help. At this time of year the water is still quite cold and the wind tends to fall off abruptly when the afternoon cools off. The waterman I observed was unable to fly his kite due to the dying breeze and was drifting uncontrolled northwards towards Seapowet. I was concerned enough that I deployed my nine-foot dinghy and motored out to him to see if he needed help. He was lucky that I did because it was clear that he was getting hypothermic and still had a long way to drift before he ran into Seapowet (that is unless the current carried him around the west end of the watershed). This is a quiet time of year on the river and there were no other boaters around to assist. I helped the man into my dinghy and got him to land as fast as I could. His son had been watching him from Fogland and when he saw the rescue drove to Seapowet to gather up his Dad. In a similar situation, if this man continued his uncontrolled drift into a field of acres of cabling, there is a very substantial risk that he would be entangled in the equipment that is being proposed by the oyster farms and quite possibly drowned or become fatally hypothermic before anyone noticed. Left to simply drift in unaided he would have been significantly more hypothermic but that is probably it.
While I enjoy oysters and support aquaculture and the right of people to make a living from the sea, I object to what I see as the interests of a few people over the safety and recreational opportunity of hundreds or more of the public who use this waterway for their enjoyment and still others who shellfish and fish for food as well. There are other places within the Sakonnet that pose little to no risk to the safety or enjoyment of our fellow Rhode Islanders where aquaculture can be practiced. In fact a simple scanning of a nautical chart shows areas (such as off of Gould Island) that are already designated for fish traps where there aren't any. I implore the CRMC to consider the interests of the many over the interests of the few and to place the conservation of a unique and pristine ecosystem ahead of the convenient placement of an aquaculture facility.
Charlie Barmonde
Puncateest Neck Road