Bayshore town wants clammers to shell out

The future of clamming in Highlands is as murky as the waters of the Sandy Hook Bay. Just ask Tom Rhodes, a 50-year member of the clamming collective known as the Baymen’s Protective Association. “Don’t let them put us out of business,” Rhodes, clad in orange waders and bright blue gloves, said as he unloaded his haul at the dock of the local processing plant, following a recent outing. The Baymen’s lease for the James T. White Clam Depuration Plant, where clams — Cherrystone, chowder and littleneck — from the bay are cleaned before they go to market, lapsed at the end of 2015. The borough of Highlands is the owner of the property and elected officials there are keen on renegotiating the lease, including more than doubling the rent and tax payments to $8,700 per month — a tab some clammers say would be prohibitive. Read the rest here 09:02

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