Shellfish Commission - Minutes - 10/07/2025

Town of Waterford Shellfish Commission
Regular Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, October 7, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
Waterford Town Hall
1. Establish a Quorum and Call the Meeting to Order
Chairman Francolino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. after
establishing a quorum.
Present were Commissioners Francolino, Porter and Jamroga.
Absent were Commissioners Drennen, Calkins and Healy.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Approval of the September 2, 2025, Meeting Minutes
Motion made by Commissioner Porter, seconded by Commissioner
Jamroga to approve the meeting minutes as filed. All in favor,
motion carried.
4. Correspondence
Chairman Francolino forwards all relevant correspondence to the
Commission members in between meetings to keep everyone up to
date. The Commission discussed several correspondences received
from the State pertaining to shell fishing business. The Commission
has submitted the permit sales data information requested for years
2015-2024 to the Department of Aquaculture.
5. Treasurer’s Report
a. Review of the Monthly Treasurer’s Report Generated from the
Finance Department
Treasurer Porter reviewed the most recent financial report with the
Commission.
A discussion was held regarding the upcoming budget request and
the need to draft one.

b. Review of Expenditures and Revenue Generated
The Commission has submitted three bills for payment to Finance
for clams and oysters distributed into the recreational shell fishing
area last month.
Treasurer Porter has collected the permits from Riverside Grocery
and submitted the revenue with paperwork to the Finance
Department.
6. Monthly Monitoring and Sampling Report
The recreational shell fishing areas are currently closed due to
excessive rainfall. Once satisfactory samples are returned the
recreational shell fishing area is expected to re-open for the
remainder of the season.
The recreational shell fishing area will close on January 1st and re-
open on April 1st pending satisfactory return of samples.
7. New Business
a. Approval of the 2025 Waterford Shellfish Commission Annual
Report.
Motion made by Commissioner Jamroga, seconded by
Commissioner Porter to approve the 2025 Annual Report for the
Waterford Shellfish Commission and to forward the document to
the Finance Department. All in favor, motion carried.
Town of Waterford Shellfish Commission
Annual Report for the 2025 Recreational Shell Fishing Season
During the 2025 recreational shell fishing season the Waterford
Shellfish Commission maintained recreational shell fishing Area G
in Jordan Cove and Area C also known as Bay Point on the East side
of Waterford Island. Recreational shell fishing permits are available
for purchase to anyone who wishes to participate in the recreational
shell fishing of hard-shell clams and oysters. Permits are available
for purchase at the Town Hall at the Town Clerk’s office year-round
and Riverside Grocery seasonally. Permits are available for

purchase between April 1st and December 31st while the
recreational shell fishing areas are open and are valid for the
calendar year in which the permit is purchased. The Waterford
Shellfish Commission administratively closes the recreational shell
fishing areas during the months of January, February and March
and re-opens on April 1st pending State mandated satisfactory
sample testing. Funds generated from the sale of recreational shell
fishing permits are used to offset operating costs of the Waterford
Shellfish Commission. This Commission is one of the few that
contributes to its own budget resulting in the need to ask the Town
for less than half of its operating costs annually.
The Waterford Shellfish Commission maintains a lease of bottom
land that generates one thousand six hundred dollars each year
from a commercial grower. The income from the yearly lease goes
directly to offsetting the costs of the overall operating costs of the
Waterford Shellfish Commission.
This season the Commission was able to secure certified little neck
clams for restock. The Commission members distributed eighty-five
bags of certified little neck and top neck clams and two bags of
oysters into the recreational shell fishing areas. It is the hope of the
Commission to continue to secure enough product season to season
to distribute into the waters and that doing so will increase permit
sales.
The Commission continues to patrol Jordan Cove utilizing the
Wardens of the Waterford East Lyme Shellfish Commission and with
the help of the members of the Waterford Shellfish Commission.
State of Connecticut regulations dictate that after one- and one-half
inches of rainfall the recreational shell fishing area is to be closed.
The testing materials are harvested and taken on the fifth day
following rainfall and delivered to the lab for testing. This process
takes on average between eight and ten days before the areas can
be re-opened. This process is conducted for the safety of those that
consume hard shell clams in the recreational shell fishing areas.
High bacteria count after a rainfall often results in hard shell clam
contamination and it is the goal to reduce the chance that the
public gets sick from consuming contaminated product harvested
from the recreational areas after a heavy rainfall. Openings and

closings of the recreational shell fishing areas are posted on the
Town’s website.
This year the Commission has spent a considerable amount of time
discussing and updating the Shellfish Resource Management Plan
and the Commission is happy to announce that the Plan has been
approved. A few changes include combining Areas A and G into one
area depicted as Area G. The 2025 recreational shell fishing permits
have a map printed on the back of the permit along with the
regulations to avoid confusion regarding where the permitted areas
for recreational shell fishing are located and what is permitted
while shell fishing.
The future goals of the Waterford Shellfish Commission are to
replenish the recreational shell fishing area with certified little neck
clams and oysters in the upcoming 2026 season as they become
available for purchase and to continue to monitor the opening and
closing of the recreational shell fishing areas in the upcoming year
per State of Connecticut mandates. The Commission plans to
continue to sell recreational shell fishing permits to anyone who
wishes to utilize the areas for harvesting hard shell clams and to
continue to lease the bottom land to its commercial harvester and
grower to generate operating costs for the Commission. The
Commission members will continue to remain active in local and
State shell fishing activities to maintain and enhance the
effectiveness of all shell fishing activity throughout the State of
Connecticut.
The Waterford Shellfish Commission continues its goal to increase
permit sales through restock of certified little neck and top neck
clams and oysters in the recreational shell fishing areas as weather
conditions allow and as there is availability of product to do so.
The Waterford Shellfish Commission staff consists of one individual
who provides clerical support. The Commission meets on the first
Tuesday of each month with an occasional special meeting as
needed. The State of Connecticut requires that towns with
recreational shell fishing and commercial leases maintain a Shellfish
Commission to oversee regulations and mandated testing.
The recreational shell fishing program in the Town of Waterford is

available to anyone who wishes to purchase a permit to do so. This
program is not limited to Waterford residents only.
There are no municipalities that support this agency, and we do not
receive any funding from the United Way.
The recreational shell fishing areas are open from April 1st through
December 31st of each fiscal year. The areas are administratively
closed during the months of January, February and March due to
difficulty accessing areas for State mandated water testing during
the colder months of the year.
b. Approval of the 2026 Waterford Shellfish Commission Meeting
Dates.
Motion made by Commissioner Porter, seconded by Commissioner
Jamroga to approve the following 2026 regular meeting dates. The
Commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month at the Town
Hall.
January 6, 2026, February 3, 2026, March 3, 2026, April 7, 2026,
May 5, 2026, June 2, 2026, July 7, 2026, August 4, 2026,
September 1, 2026, October 6, 2026, November 10, 2026,
December 1, 2026.
Motion made by Commissioner Jamroga, seconded by
Commissioner Porter to approve the 2026 meeting dates and to
forward them to the appropriate agencies. All in favor, motion
carried.
8. Old Business
a. Update Regarding Re-Stock Distribution into the Recreational
Shell Fishing Area.
Chairman Francolino stated the Commission was able to secure
approximately ten thousand certified little neck and top neck clams
and oysters for distribution into the recreational shell fishing areas
with the help of Commission members and volunteers with three
boats. It is the hope of the Commission to continue with re-stock to
boost permit sales in the future.

Chairman Francolino thanked all that were able to come out to help
with the distribution of the clams into the recreational shell fishing
area.
The Commission discussed advertising the availability of
recreational shell fishing permits in the local news outlets next
season so that the public is aware that they are available for
purchase.
Chairman Francolino announced to the Commission that he will be
stepping down as Chairman sometime before April 2026 as he is
moving out of State. He will submit his letter of resignation to the
First Selectman’s office once he has a definite moving date. He
asked the Commission members to think about who would like to
take over as Chairman of the Commission.
9. Public Comment Regarding Items Relating to Waterford Shellfish
Business.
There was no one from the public present to address the
Commission at this meeting.
10. Adjournment
There being nothing further to discuss the Commission adjourned
the meeting at 7:45 p.m.
There will not be a regularly scheduled Waterford Shellfish
Commission meeting in November due to Election Day and Veterans
Day. The Commission will reconvene in December.
Respectfully Submitted by
Audrey Ulmer, Recording Secretary for the Town of Waterford
Shellfish Commission