RYE, N.H. — A business selling lobster rolls in Rye Harbor will be allowed to continue after it was granted a one-year waiver, despite concerns about traffic and other issues in the small harbor.
When the summer season hits, Rye Harbor bustles with maritime activity, from commercial fishermen, charters, whale watches and recreational boaters. It’s a quintessential working harbor.
“But unfortunately, that’s not what it’s turning into,” boat owner and captain Sue Reynolds said.
Controversy has boiled over about the Rye Harbor Lobster Pound in one of the shacks along the harbor’s narrow driveway entrance. Last year, lacking a concession agreement, the governor granted the business a waiver to sell lobster rolls, helping it thrive through the pandemic.
“They’ve just expanded way beyond what this facility will take,” Reynolds said.
Others who make use of the harbor said the waiver led to problems.
“It led to traffic issues, trash issues, negative impacts on the other rights of entry holders,” said Stephen Duprey, chairman of the Pease Development Authority.
Gov. Chris Sununu asked the Pease Development Authority to grant a waiver again this year, and after hearing public comment, the authority voted in favor of the waiver, with strict conditions.
Owner Sylvia Cheever said she was relieved and grateful.
