After several weeks of debating whether or not to continue with the interlocal agreement between Newcastle and Damariscotta, the two towns decided to enter into another joint agreement.

Sort of.

The two towns met Wednesday, April 15, along with the shellfish committee and the Maine Department's Denis-Marc Nault to discuss the future of the shellfish ordinance, and how it will be administered going forward.

Nault said the Department of Marine Resources actually prefers it when towns enter into interlocal agreements.

The selectmen and shellfish committee agreed to try and quickly move the ordinance to be able to have most of it in place for the upcoming shellfish season, which begins in June.

If fast-tracked and approved by voters, the new ordinance would move all shellfish management — including licensing — to Damariscotta.

Newcastle, meanwhile, would take over the harbor ordinances, which include mooring registration.

The two towns would essentially be one entity under the interlocal agreement, Nault said. The fishery would still be under the shellfish committee, and the shellfish committee would still ultimately report to the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen.

The shellfish committee will still be made up of both Newcastle and Damariscotta residents, and Nault said that a biologist from the Department of Marine Resources would attend meetings at least once a year to check in on the fishery and its management.

One of the largest changes to the ordinance, which was proposed by Nault, was to remove the binding conservation portion of the license agreement.

Currently, anyone wishing to obtain a shellfish license must complete eight hours of conservation work, as set forth in the 2012 shellfish ordinance. Nault said that the conservation requirement should have the flexibility to change on a year-by-year basis.

“You'll want to have (the ordinance) say something along the lines of 'to be determined at an annual town meeting,'” he said.

Several fishermen had complained that the current conservation being done (turning over the clam beds) was actually detrimental to the flats, as increased numbers of green crabs had moved in and started eating young clams. Nault said that conservation can include anything directly related to the flats, such as green crab trapping or seeding the flats, but work such as picking up trash near the flats cannot be required due to labor laws.

Other changes for the upcoming season include a new person patrolling the flats. Long-time shellfish warden Sid Geyer is retiring this year, and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is expected to resume warden deputies.

While changes are happening between the two towns, Nault said the state of the clam fishery varies up and down the coast.

“What we used to see were big swings up and down,” he said. “We see ups and downs still, but they're not as dramatic.”