R.I. Judge Rules Cultured Oysters Are Livestock

A plate of oysters at the Matunuck Oyster Bar overlooking Potter Pond.
Photo by Mary Murphy/Providence Journal

On December 26, 2019, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge upheld a local zoning board’s decision allowing oyster grower and restaurateur Perry Raso to continue using a portion of land on the salt pond where he grows his oysters to support his aquaculture operation. In making his ruling, the judge accepted that shellfish farming meets the definition of agriculture, setting a valuable precedent for those who seek to use their state’s Right-to-Farm rules to protect shellfish farming activities in locations zoned for agriculture.

Read the full Providence Journal story.