James Spader, Selectmen chair concerned about shellfish farm

Jul 13, 2016

The last thing actor James Spader wants to see when he wakes up in the morning is a “pasture of oysters.”

At Tuesday night’s Selectmen meeting, Spader, a Marion resident, was the most outspoken opponent to a half-acre shellfish farm proposed in Planting Island Cove. The farm, to be owned and operated by Shea Doonan, would be approximately 65 feet from Meadow Island, which Spader owns. It would also be visible from his home.

On Tuesday, Selectmen were asked to approve the aquaculture application, one of a bevy of applications and permits Doonan needs before he can establish a farm. The Department of Marine Fisheries already surveyed the proposed area and had no objects to the location.

Doonan said, “I scoured pretty much every inch of the harbor,” and the spot near Meadow Island was the best one.

Spader, however, said the location would not benefit the town, but would instead hinder kayakers and swimmers.

“That’s a channel that’s been used with great regularity for my entire life and I would assume lives before mine,” he said, noting that he’s lived in Marion for 56 years and his family has owned property in town for more than a century.

Spader said the industry wouldn’t “serve our greater community” and that “this town’s industry, to a great degree, is recreation.”

The only benefit he could see would be the fees the town would receive from the farm, that is until he was informed that Doonan would only be required to pay $12.50 a year for the half-acre, a price determined by the state.

“It may be the most perfect place in Massachusetts to farm oysters, but in terms of the enhancement of our town, it’s $12.50 for a license,” Spader said.

Doonan said the farm would generate revenue for the area as local businesses will be among his clients, but Spader wasn’t the only person present who questioned the location of the farm.

Selectmen Chair Jody Dickerson also voiced reservations.

“I do have some concerns about navigation. I don’t think it’s the best location.”

Selectman Stephen Cushing, on the other hand, said while the farm would affect kayakers, he doesn’t think it “detracts form the navigability of the area.”

With the third member, Steve Gonsalves, absent, Dickerson and Cushing decided to hold another public hearing when all three could discuss the issue on Aug. 16.