The Mathews County Planning Commission had brief discussions during Tuesday night’s meeting on aquaculture management tools and the establishment of a capital improvement plan for the county.

Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins provided the commission with information about the county’s current regulation governing oyster aquaculture in the R-1 District. This regulation has three levels of permitting for raising oysters: Non-commercial activities such as oyster gardening in floating cages next to a non-commercial pier for personal use; limited commercial aquaculture as a home occupation for growing up to 100,000 oysters, clams or mussels; and commercial aquaculture for growing over 100,000 oysters, clams or mussels.

Jenkins explained that the regulation applies only to people who raise oysters in waters adjacent to their property in the R-1 District. There could be people harvesting millions of oysters on leased bottom and “taking it straight to the dock and...