Surry names new shellfish warden; town reports early citations at Emerton Brook Marsh

The Town of Surry’s Select Board on Jan. 7 announced the hiring of Michael Boucher as the town’s new Shellfish Warden and said he cited three commercial harvesters at Emerton Brook Marsh within days of taking the post.

The chair told attendees that the appointment is already leading to local enforcement actions. Select Board members said the Shellfish Committee is working on an amendment to the town’s Shellfish Ordinance — including clarifying language about children digging — and is pursuing a University of Maine grant to fund a marine biologist study of clam spat in town waters.

Why it matters: local shellfish beds are both an ecological and economic resource in Surry and neighboring towns; enforcement, ordinance language and scientific study can affect harvesting practices and future regulation. The committee’s work and any ordinance amendment would appear on the town meeting warrant if the board decides to place it there.

Board members did not provide detailed public-health or citation records at the meeting. The chair’s announcement was informational; there was no vote attached to the hiring or the cited enforcement actions at this session. The Select Board said it will continue to coordinate with the Shellfish Committee on ordinance language and the University of Maine grant application.

What’s next: the board may place the Shellfish Ordinance amendment on the Town Meeting warrant and the committee is pursuing grant funding to support a marine-biologist study.

Sources: Chair comments at the Jan. 7 Select Board meeting; Shellfish Committee status reported by Chris Stark and committee member Irene Schmidt.