More than four years ago, amid some neighborhood opposition and following a protracted permitting process, Christopher Bryant and his brothers received a commercial shellfish aquaculture license to operate a one-half acre oyster farm in the Jobs Cove area.

Now Bryant is coming back in front of the town for permission to expand his family's business on an additional half-acre on the western shoreline of Sippican Outer Harbor, south of Silvershell Beach.

"We are basically expanding the business," said Bryant, a grower who sells oysters to Island Creek Oyster Bar and Row 34 – a growing chain of Boston area and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, restaurants.

His oyster site at Jobs Cove so far is producing an impressive yield, Bryant said.

"It's been very surprising. While it's typically expected that oysters require eighteen months [to grow], we've had plenty of oysters come to maturity in twelve to thirteen months. We're getting good growth in that area," he said.

During harvesting season, which spans from June to December, Bryant has been producing about 1,000 oysters per week. With the additional site, he hopes to increase that yield up to 3,000 oysters per week, he said.

The proposed half-acre site at Sippican Outer Harbor is geographically similar to the Jobs Cove site, and has the same water flow and quality, he said.

"We think we found a very appropriate site that won't inhibit anyone else – whether they are boating, fishing, sailing or anything else," Bryant said.

An increased yield of oysters, Bryant said, would allow his small business to get a better price from buyers. In the meantime, he said he is hoping to find more ways to sell the oysters locally.

The hearing for Bryant’s application was continued at the March 23 Conservation Commission meeting. The commission next meets Wednesday, April 13. He is also scheduled to speak with Selectmen at the Marion Town House at 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5. The aquaculture license application also requires approval from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to ensure it does not interfere with navigation or adversely impact eel grass and marine life, Bryant said.