by Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
January 16, 2026
A Jamestown oyster farm is poised for expansion, after receiving unanimous approval from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council on Tuesday.
The council’s swift stamp of approval lets Rocky Rhode Oyster Co. owner Brad Boehringer add 3.5 acres to his existing, 7.8-acre oyster farm in Jamestown’s Dutch Island Harbor.
The uncontested review was an anomaly in the increasingly contentious debate between oyster farmers, fishermen and coastal residents warring over use and views of state coastal waterways. Rhode Island’s aquaculture boom has spawned public protests, late-night hearings and lawsuits, with protracted regulatory reviews that, in some cases, span years.
It helped that Boehringer’s existing expanse of oyster cases, 900 feet off the western shore off Dutch Island Harbor, falls within an area already designated by town and state officials for aquaculture use.
Rocky Rhode is one of six aquaculture farms covering a combined 35 acres within a 90-acre area in Dutch Island Harbor designated for aquaculture use, according to a 2024 report. The report helped inform a working group of town officials and state environmental administrators in developing rules and regulations for future aquaculture development in the area.
Boehringer’s southwest expansion aims to meet increasing commercial demand, enabling Boehringer to keep his eight seasonal residents employed year-round and boost production to reach 1 million oysters and 100,000 scallops a year, according to his June 2025 application. He already produces and harvests enough shellfish to service 45 area restaurants and five regional wholesales.
The 3.5-acre addition, a mix of bottom cages and floating baskets, received positive recommendations from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the CRMC staff report.
A preliminary application reviewed by the Jamestown Harbor Commission in December 2024 also revealed “very few issues,” Benjamin Goetsch, CRMC aquaculture coordinator, wrote in the Dec. 15 report. In fact, the expansion could have been approved by staff, without a public hearing or review by the politically appointed council, if it weren’t for two written letters of objection.
The letters, both from seasonal Jamestown residents, laid out concerns with debris and sand filling from the expanded aquaculture activity, and potential conflicts with area sailing activity. The objectors did not attend the hearing on Tuesday.
Goetsch’s report refuted each of these claims, noting that all human activity on or near the water could create debris, and that the Coast Guard had already indicated no navigational interference.
Boehringer told the council Tuesday that he had a “very good working relationship” with the Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation, which is the primary group of sailors in the area.
New non-rusting oyster cages avoid the risk that pieces chip off and collect in the water – a problem of older versions of the equipment no longer in use, Boehringer said.
The CRMC’s approval requires any lost gear or equipment be retrieved within 30 days. Boehringer will also have to put up a $40,000 performance bond to cover potential costs associated with gear removal or abandonment.
Boehringer declined to comment on the council’s decision when reached by email on Wednesday.
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