Del. Aquaculture Order’s Uncertainty Sparks Concerns

FENWICK ISLAND – The Coalition for Little Assawoman Bay, a group consisting of eight communities, is urging officials to change two aspects of aquaculture regulations after a statewide leasing process was approved last week that will facilitate commercial shellfish farming.

David Small, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) secretary, said the approved permitting process will make it easier and faster for commercial start-ups to lease portions of regulated subaquatic land, aptly named Shellfish Aquaculture Development Areas (SADA), and will restrict and regulate activity in Delaware’s three inland bays — Rehoboth, Indian River, and Little Assawoman.

“It is an inherent incentive to use areas adopted by statewide approvals,” Small said. “Businesses look for certainty, and I think we have accomplished that through the statewide approval and the maps.”

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