CT Legislature Now A Battleground For Shellfish Cos. & State Regulators

HARTFORD — Ten companies control about 90 percent of Connecticut shellfish grounds, and the people who run those operations want dramatic changes in the way the state oversees and regulates their industry.

Connecticut's largest shellfish companies are asking the legislature to create a new board to "direct the policies and procedures" of the state Bureau of Aquaculture. The proposed shellfish "coordinating council" would be outside the state's executive branch and not subject to the governor's full authority — a radical shift for Connecticut's state government.

The fight for regulatory control of this state's more than $30 million-a-year shellfish industry has gotten ugly.

There are rumors on both sides of this debate about threats of retaliation and intimidation tactics. Oyster and clam farmers say they're afraid the state is trying to take away shellfish beds they've been leasing and improving for decades.

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