Friday, January 30, 2026
TARR IN THE NEWS | 1.26.26
Thank you to The Local News for their continued, informative coverage of the newly-formed Shellfish Harvest Expansion Task Force, its membership and our upcoming meeting in February.
EXCERPTS BELOW:
"The task force, led by Sen. Bruce Tarr, will examine multiple options to increase the shellfishing capacity in the area after FDA regulations closed the Ipswich river flats nearly two years ago. Local clammers have long relied on those flats during the winter.
“We know it’s not a replacement for that winter fishery, which is particularly important, but we think we’ve pursued that as far as we possibly can right now,” Tarr said. “None of us wants to walk away, so this is an attempt to look at other options, to try to do what we can do.”"
AND
"The group will include Tarr, Rep. Kristin Kassner, Shellfish Constable Matthew Bodwell, Wayne Castonguay of the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), and representatives from the town’s water and wastewater departments.
At the first meeting, which is expected to take place in February, the committee will put all of the options for shellfish expansion on the table, from relocating the wastewater treatment outfall pipe to dredging the river to reclassifying and expanding certain harvesting areas.
The task force is expected to make its final set of recommendations by Dec. 31. Tarr said the group can continue to meet and make recommendations if need be, but he doesn’t want it to become an “endless pursuit without results.”"
Read the full article by Amy Palmer
