Eric Karplus of Science Wares, Inc., on June 24, presented the Water Quality Management Committee with an update on the Eel River Pilot Aquaculture Project. The project has been a success through the first year, even during the pandemic, with both public and private benefits, Mr. Karplus said.
The three-year pilot program, which began last year, awarded three 20,000-square-foot aquaculture plots in Eel Pond in Menauhant to shellfish growers. The goal of the pilot program was to determine if growers could make money while reporting on data on nitrogen removal.
Data confirm that aquaculture is one of the ways to reduce nitrogren loading in impaired estuaries. The town identified three sites and initiated the permitting, creating a system that allows about 2,500 floating bags per site. An entry-level target of 280,000 market-sized oysters per site was established, which should result in 60 kilograms of nitrogen removed per site, resulting in 180 kilograms of nitrogen per year, Mr. Kar