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Shellfish committee declines to recommend renewal of Bruce Hudson’s oyster grant
Summary
At a Shellfish Committee meeting, members declined to recommend renewing an oyster grant for Bruce Hudson after questioning missing sales receipts and whether seed-sourcing and paperwork requirements from a prior probationary period were met; Hudson cited recent illness and pledged to correct deficiencies.
At its meeting, the Shellfish Committee debated whether to recommend renewing an oyster grant for Bruce Hudson after staff circulated a memo of activities dating to 2021 and identified missing documentation.
The committee chair and members pressed Hudson for proof of sales and evidence that he sourced seed from multiple approved hatcheries as required under his prior probationary approval. Hudson said he had sold oysters to North Coast Seafood but did not bring receipts to the meeting and that his Vibrio logbook and other paperwork had been filed with the state. “I believe I did when I sent my paperwork in,” Hudson said. He also described serious recent health problems: “January 2, I was, I came down with, stage 4 prostate cancer… I’m doing much better now,” and said he intends to retire from his flooring business and put his energy into the oyster operation if he receives the grant.
Committee members noted the grant and gear had been underused across multiple years and that prior approvals included specific conditions. The chair said the committee’s role is advisory: “We just do recommendations. We have no power,” and explained the select board makes the final licensing decision. After discussion, the committee took a recommendation vote on renewing Hudson’s grant; the chair reported there were “no positive votes,” and one member abstained, citing limited knowledge of field operations. The committee therefore did not forward a positive recommendation for renewal.
Hudson told members he would correct paperwork and outreach gaps if given another chance. The chair and other members offered to assist with paperwork and contacts to source seed. The committee’s nonrecommendation now moves the question to the town’s select board, where Hudson may present his case for a license renewal or a new term.
The committee’s next procedural step is to place the advisory vote and accompanying committee memo before the select board; the transcript does not record a subsequent select-board decision or a definitive license action.
