MARION — Following the $10,500 cleanup of a shellfishing site in November, the town is looking to change its aquaculture regulations. 

The Marion Marine Resources Commission discussed what the new regulations could look like at a Jan. 18 meeting. 

Harbormaster Isaac Perry said that selectmen are hoping to create new regulations that would require permit holders to purchase a bond which would ensure the town would not have to spend its own money to clean up sites in the future.

In November, Perry and Shellfish Officer Adam Murphy conducted a $10,500 cleanup of Shea Doonan’s Ram Island shellfishing site after the Selectmen revoked Doonan’s shellfishing permits at a Sept. 8 meeting. 

The Marine Resources Commission sent a letter to the Selectmen, asking for Doonan to be billed for the cleanup, but the immediate cost was borne by the commission. 

Selectmen have yet to decide to whom the final bill will be sent. 

“I never wanna have to do that again,” Murphy said. 

Perry said Selectmen also suggested that the town charge more fees related to aquaculture sites. 

Currently, the town is only bringing in a $12.50 fee for each of its half-acre sites — a rate mandated by the commonwealth. One way the town is looking to bring in additional revenue, the harbormaster said, is through mooring fees. 

The Marine Resources Commission will discuss the issue in full at a Feb. 8 special meeting. Until new regulations are in place, consideration of applications for the Ram Island site has been suspended.