Pazolt v. Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries

We again are faced with the issue of the private property rights of a littoral landowner and the public’s reserved right of fishing in the intertidal zone. See Wellfleet v. Glaze, 403 Mass. 79 (1988). The board of selectmen of Truro (board) granted John LaForte licenses to conduct shellfish propagation and aquaculture on the tidal flats located in front of the plaintiffs motel. 3 After an unsuccessful administrative appeal to the division of marine fisheries, Priscilla Pazolt, the plaintiff, filed a complaint in Superior Court to prevent LaForte from seeding and harvesting shellfish on her…