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LUBEC, Maine — The Lubec Shellfish Committee met Monday to discuss the proposed Woodward Point rotational closure, ongoing efforts to address septic contamination in town and several permitting issues, including whether to “grandfather in” out‑of‑town permitholders.
There was also an update on the town’s clam seeding program, which is scheduled to launch in spring of next year.
With more harvesters attending than at any meeting so far this year, the committee announced plans to begin the Woodward Point rotating clam flat closure later this year.
The plan, discussed at the committee’s February meeting, would affect the clam flats on either side of Woodward Point. Mowry Beach and the S‑Turn flats would alternate openings with the flats south of Woodward — Long Bar, First Bar and Second Bar.
Under the proposed rotation, the flats north of Woodward would be open from June 21 to Sept. 1, and the southern flats would be open from Sept. 1 to June 21.
An audience member questioned the value of such a short closure period and whether the rotating schedule would simply concentrate the same number of harvesters into half the area, potentially further depleting the resource.
Shellfish Committee Chair Michael Scrivani said he will attend the next meeting of the Lubec Board of Selectmen to request a hearing on the closure plan, which would include an opportunity for public comment before a board vote.
Another potential change to the harvesting rules is nearing realization: a proposal to add affidavits to the licensing process. Applicants for recreational and commercial clamming licenses would be required to provide affidavits proving their residency.
Scrivani said the change can be made procedurally without amending the ordinance. At the meeting, he said he plans to discuss implementing the requirement with Town Administrator Suzette Francis.
The committee also addressed confusion about permits granted to out‑of‑town harvesters.
Under the town’s shellfish ordinance, last amended in 2023, out‑of‑town permits are limited to one for every 10 resident licenses. With 58 resident licenses issued this year, about five out‑of‑town permits are in circulation.
The ordinance also includes a provision for a lottery if more than one person applies for an out‑of‑town license when one becomes available. It does not include any provision for “grandfathering in” out‑of‑town clammers.
An audience member proposed granting the neighboring territory of Trescott access to Lubec’s flats. Lubec’s ordinance also allows for reciprocal digging, in which one town may grant another town’s harvesters access to its flats in exchange for the same access in return.
The meeting attendees did not seem eager to enter into such an arrangement with Trescott.
“There’s nothing there,” one said. “That’s why they’re here.”
The committee also discussed ongoing efforts to address septic runoff affecting clam flats around town, including the Globe, Factory and Lawrence Point flats.
Scrivani said one of the property owners in North Lubec plans to install a septic system this spring. He added that Brent Lawson, the state site evaluator, intends to conduct a dye test once the ground thaws to verify the existence of a septic tank at a second North Lubec property.
Shellfish Warden Russell Wright expressed frustration with how long it has taken to identify and address the problems.
“It wasn’t hard to find,” he said. “You can smell it.”
In response to Wright, committee member Mark Kelley suggested a new protocol for handling septic issues in town. Under the proposal, the shellfish warden would report problems to Francis, who would then forward those reports to the town’s licensed plumbing inspector, Bruce Greene.
Scrivani asked whether there was interest in running another anti-moon snail campaign, a clam conservation effort that reduces the moon snail population by collecting the snails’ collar-shaped egg purses.
An audience member responded that a more worthwhile project would be to transplant small clams instead.
“We’re done with the moon snails,” he said. “Let’s do something that actually pays off.”
He proposed a sort of homegrown seeding operation in which clams smaller than 2 inches — too small to sell — are gathered and transplanted to other plots.
Wright suggested using Globe Cove, which is now closed because of contamination issues, as a destination for the small clams.
In a telephone interview later, Scrivani said he had known old‑time clam diggers who worked in Lubec before the age of regulation and would replenish their flats by transplanting undersized clams.
Wright said there is now a permitting process for such operations.
The committee also voted to have Scrivani ask the town for additional funding to add a third plot to the planned clam‑seeding program.
The Downeast Institute, the Beals‑based nonprofit research center that sells clam seed and addressed the committee last month, is likely sold out for the year, meaning Lubec’s seeding program will have to wait until next spring.
The committee also voted to accept the resignation of member Anna Carter and announced the resulting vacancy on the committee.