Last week, EJJI Executive Director and co-founder Donzell Brown drove down to Annapolis to offer his testimony in support of Senate Bill 433.

This would not seem unusual, but for the fact that we are a journalism organization. We have said we would not lobby, even though other environmental groups ask us all the time to do so. We don’t do it because we wish to cover policy, not advocate for it. We feel our journalism and engagement is what makes us effective and different. Even bills that focus on environmental justice, like the BRESCO plant, are probably going to have plenty of advocates testifying. They won’t need us.

So, why did we testify in favor of Senate Bill 433?

This is a bill to create an enterprise fund to help women and minorities enter the aquaculture business. At the moment, there are few, if any, Black and brown aquaculturists working their own farmers, and not many white women, either, unless they co-own the business with their husband. Though the state government in Maryland set aside millions of dollars to help watermen start oyster and clam farms when aquaculture became legal here in 2009, they did not offer any such help for women or minorities.

Why is this important? First, the resources of the state belong to all, and all should have a fair chance at entering a business that is both profitable and good for the environment. Why can’t women and minorities just enter it, then? Because aquaculture start-ups need funds – at least $25,000 to start – for equipment and seed. They need leases in the waterways. And most of all, they need shoreline property so they can grow seeds and get out to their leases. The vast majority of the landowners in Maryland have been white men. They were the only ones allowed to own property for many years.

This is not a policy issue that we are likely to cover. It’s simply a fairness issue to make this industry more diverse, which we support. Our friend and board member Imani Black is working hard to make sure diverse voices are represented in aquaculture. We wanted to do what we could to support this issue. 

Good luck to all who are pushing the bill through. Maryland needs oyster farmers. And oyster farmers need a level playing field.