ឆ្្្្្ ្្្្ ្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្័្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្្
ស្្្្្ ្្្្្្្្្្្្
The middle of the last century, to now, the abundance in the bay has diminished quite a bit.
One point in time, the pecanic bay system was very productive.
And we hope that it will be productive again in the future.
50 years ago, if you looked out on the water, you'd see 10 commercial boats and you'd see maybe one recreational boat.
Now, 20 recreational boats at least and one commercial boat doing some kind of fishing.
I know that for many years it was kind of, I've heard it described as the hunter-gatherer mentality where you just go and take from the bay.
And I hope that what we're going to be able to accomplish here is a little bit more for the giving back.
I hope that it will be a little bit more for the giving back.
Father-in-law bought this property way back in the 40s.
They used to come out on Long Island on the dirt road and come out on weekends.
It was Anna and John Plock who were the real pioneers there.
It was a shellfish business. We had clams that would come in from Freeport that they would open.
We had scallops, we had oysters.
It's amazing though how since technology has changed, down here is pretty much the same.
They're still using the inlet that we use, they're still using.
Even though we have so much more modern technology, it's amazing to see how much it's still the same.
When I saw the lady working there, I was like, oh, that's what it was like.
And they put in some very unique structures and waterways that enabled them to grow shellfish
and most importantly to hold shellfish in land-based structures.
In the winter time, they didn't have to take their boats out and crush through the ice to get out to their shellfish beds.
Anna and John Sr. had, I believe, one son, John Plock Jr., who was operating the facility.
Unfortunately, the son, John Plock Jr., was killed in a car accident
and his children were too young to take over the business.
So they had 24 acres of nice pristine wooded property on the bay.
Because it had been up for sale, as my grandmother had been ailing,
none of us could really afford to take it over at the time.
It was in the late 1980s, and it was John Halsey, our president,
who showed up at an auction for the property.
From that initial contact, we essentially built a relationship of communication
and working towards, as we always do, trying to meet mutual goals.
Basically, it was a combination of being able to make some money but yet preserve land
like we wanted to do to preserve the family, you know, the name and what we stood for.
My name is Carol. This is my daughter Debbie, my son Bill, and my daughter Kathy.
We identified about a 17-acre area to be preserved and managed as a
mariculture facility, and then we identified an 80-acre area
that would be for residential lots that the family would keep.
People get too caught up in the money.
We could have sold this place for way more money than what we got to develop all of it.
From the earliest stages of our work with the family,
we reached out to Cornell Cooperative Extension.
The leases would operate under their auspices,
and they would approve any of the end-users of the property.
We know about land preservation.
They know about the bays and about shellfish operations.
It was a natural partnership.
They wanted to make sure that the people who were growing here
are abided by the conservation law.
I am Karen Rivara, and I'm the secretary of the Noang Aquaculture Cooperative
for a group of small-scale shellfish farmers.
We're using the property to cultivate shellfish
and we're using modern shellfish cultivation methods.
I have a greenhouse that I put up that I grow the algae in,
and that's sort of like my field of corn or alfalfa or barley
that I'm growing for the shellfish to feed them.
It's very similar to livestock production.
We have a marine hatchery,
and we have a nursery series of nursery systems on the property.
We have some capacity to put shellfish in cages
and grow them out on the property,
and we can also use the property to hold market shellfish.
In January, I collect broodstock oysters.
I spawn oysters first, bring them into the hatchery,
and I make them think that it's April, May, but it's really January.
They have to grow algae because in the wintertime,
the water is not that productive of marine algae that the shellfish eat.
I tricked them into thinking that it's spring, essentially,
and after about four to six weeks,
I want them to think that it's the fourth of July.
When they're about a third of the year,
I want them to think that it's the fourth of July.
When they're about a third of a millimeter,
when I'm screening them away, or half of a millimeter, very tiny,
not microscopic, but just like pinhead size.
By the end of March, when they go into what we call the grow-out system,
which is essentially bags, mesh bags, that hold the seed,
and then those mesh bags are put into coded wire mesh cages
that hold the bags like a chest of drawers.
I do think it was our hope from the beginning
that our involvement here would add to the broader community benefits.
What I understand we would like to do is get to the point
where we can market the product that has grown on Shell Fisher Preserve
with a little premium.
Interesting things that came out of this was the concept
of having a cause-related marketing project
where a premium is attached to the Shell Fish,
mostly oysters that are sold,
and have that premium go to fund research and education projects
that benefit the Bay.
I think it's a great idea.
I've heard it referred to as venture philanthropy.
It's a way for the community to participate in little ways
and ways with their pocket though.
This facility is important to the town of Southhold
and they see the importance of Shell Fish aquaculture
in terms of a sustainable way of putting Shell Fish out into the Bay,
a way for people who live in the town of Southhold
to have a connection to the Bay to make a living on the Bay.
I think as a community people need to look towards the future
and not just the quick buck right now.
I'm hoping to say I can come back here in 20 years, 25, 30 years
and still have it the same.
As time goes on, I believe the waterfront access
for Shell Fish farmers and commercial fishermen
and wild harvest Baymen is going to shrink
unless we can figure out a way to have what would be
similar to farmland preservation for the waterfront.
Where there is an obvious link to our mission
we think it makes sense to help promote the business ventures.
Whether it's traditional farming
or mariculture types of farming operations.
Nowadays it's all about how many people
you can cram into a small amount of area
and for us if I had come back here now with my children
and saw 20 or 30 or 40 condominium.
So every time you eat an oyster from here
you'll be contributing to research and education projects
that benefit the Bay.
It's nice to be able to bring them down here.
This is where I grew up and it basically looks the same.
Nice thing about oysters and Shell Fish in general
is they come in their own little package.
The County Clan Trust stands for
preservation and conservation in the preservation of our heritage.
Thank you for watching.
