A few weeks into being Delaware’s first commercial aquaculturist, Chris Redefer said the work is going well. “I’m going to be honest, it’s going better than expected,” he said on his way back to dock June 13. “We started with six cages in April, and now we’re up to 30. It’s all about the volume.”
Redefer said he’s been paying attention to progress made on shellfish aquaculture since discussions between the state and other stakeholders began in 2012. Legislation creating the new industry in Delaware’s Inland Bays passed in 2013, and after many rounds of figuring out where leases would be available, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control held the state’s first lottery drawing for those sites in May 2017; there were 58 applicants for 343 acres in Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay and Little Assawoman Bay. Redefer was the second person picked.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
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