Shellfish fight at Short Beach

Branford, Conn. (WTNH) - Some residents in Branford say Short Beach is not the place for commercial fisherman to be pulling in shellfish.

"You can imagine in this bay, having the bottom three inches of the mud and silt dug up for clams, it would ruin the quality of life for all the people who are in this area," said Doug Hanlon, Branford Representative Town Meeting.

Lots of people think that commercial shellfishing off Short Beach would mean big commercial boats getting in the way of all the sailboats, kayaks and even swimmers.

"This neighborhood is very low key and my dog enjoys it. This is a really laid back lifestyle and I want to keep it that way," said Ron Viesti of Branford.

Shellfish experts say clam beds need to be tended like a farmer's field. For one thing, the bigger clams need to be removed.

"They're detrimental to the growth and the survival of the small ones, and this hasn't been worked in quite some time," said Nick Crismale, shellfisherman.

That's the reason the head of the Branford Shellfish Commission wants to allow commercial shellfishing here. He says nature and state law are on his side, and the fishing could be done when nobody else is using the water. But resistance from people who live around here forced the Shellfish Commission to table the idea at a meeting Tuesday night. Town officials say town ordinances prohibit commercial shellfishing, and they promise a fight if the commission tries to allow it.

"All it's going to be is a legal battle that we don't need as a town, we don't need to spend the money. It's a bad idea. It should be tabled permanently," Hanlon said.

The head of the Shellfish Commission says even though he has tabled this process indefinitely, he is still convinced that having commercial shellfishing off of Short Beach is the best thing for the ecology of this body of water and he's going to keep studying the idea.