Issue #24, September 8, 2006

NO ORDINANCE EXISTS TO BACK UP STATE RULING

By David Lion Rattiner

It seems that the great dispute between state and local governments regarding the distribution of hatchery-raised flounder into the sea has taken another odd turn for local officials. There are three parties involved in the flounder conflict that this newspaper has been following since the story broke in early August. There are the East Hampton Town Trustees, there is the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation and there is Multi Aquaculture Systems Co. located in Amagansett.

Every summer, for the past three years, the Town Trustees have gotten together and set a little money aside for Multi Aquaculture Systems to grow hatchery-grown fish in giant fish tanks in Amagansett, which are then thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. The entire point of this is to help rejuvenate depleted fish stocks in the Atlantic that are caused by over fishing. In 2004 they put fish into the water and in 2005 they put fish into the water. Tens of thousands of them. There was no red tape when this was done, and no negative consequences on any level for putting them into the sea.

This year, $19,000 was put aside for Dr. Robert Valenti, who owns Multi Aquaculture Systems, to grow flounder in his facilities, and to then dump them into the ocean. We are talking about 40,000 fish, which is a significant number. However, it is just a drop in the bucket when you put it in the perspective of how many fish are in the sea. Putting these fish in the water would not solve the depletion problem. But they wouldn’t hurt.

In earlier years, the Town would tell the D.E.C. that they were planning on releasing the fish into the sea. The D.E.C. would cooperate and the fish would get hauled out by truck, and plopped into the ocean, and everybody felt pretty good about it.

This year however, the Town Trustees applied for the first time for a permit to raise and dump the fish. Before the permit was approved, the Trustees paid Dr. Valenti to raise the flounder, which he did. They did this before the approval because everybody assumed they would get approved since there were no problems in the past. However, when it came time to dump the fish, a letter came in the mail from the D.E.C. saying something to the effect that, “If you dump the fish into the water we are going to be really upset about it and might even take away your hatchery license.”

And so, not wanting to break any rules, the Trustees and Dr. Valenti have agreed not to dump the fish in the water. That doesn’t mean that they weren’t going to just sit back and do nothing however. After all, what the heck are they supposed to do with 40,000 fish in these fish tanks? All of this work and money to raise the fish is going to be completely wasted and Dr. Valenti and the Trustees were completely baffled as to the reasons why they couldn’t put the fish into the ocean. One would think, more fish in the ocean is a good thing right?

Well they made a big stink about it and started writing letters. Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. wrote a letter, newspapers covered the story and the word got out that a bunch of flounder were stuck in tanks in Amagansett and they can’t be let go into the ocean. All of the experts involved in the story agreed that releasing the fish was safe since the fish were not genetically manipulated in any way. So what were the D.E.C.’s reasons for not letting these fish into the water? Are the reasons justified?

Well, new findings suggest that the reasons are not justified. According to the coordinator of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s flounder management plan, there is no policy on the stocking of hatchery-raised flounder, which means that it can be done. But the D.E.C. suggested otherwise in their denial letter, according to Larry Penny, the director of the East Hampton Town Department of Natural Resources.

Ruth Christiansen, the winter flounder management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, was reported saying that, “Nowhere in Amendment One for the flounder management plan is there specific mention of hatchery-grown fish, their growing, or their release for study or stocking.”

However, Gerald Barnhart, a high ranking official at the D.E.C., used Amendment One as a reason behind the denial to put the fish into the water, in a letter to Mr. Penny.

The plot thickens.

So what is going to happen? Well, a lawsuit is very possible. John Courtney, who is the attorney for the Town Trustees, would like to take apart this reason the D.E.C. gave in this denial. After all, Connecticut and Rhode Island have been allowed to do this kind of thing, why can’t Amagansett?

Although the D.E.C. does have the right to say no, they have to have good reasons, and there aren’t any. This gives the Trustees leverage on the matter that they have been looking for. It is sort of like when a person battles a ticket in court that they think they don’t deserve.

So we’ll have to wait and see what comes of this new news and whether or not the red tape will finally clear the way to allow more fish get put into the water. Two things are for sure. One is that the town is not backing down on the matter and two is, Multi Aquaculture Systems serves one heck of a good plate of fish and chips.

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