BRUNSWICK — More than half the 30 people who spoke during the last part of a three-day hearing on Mere Point Oyster Co.’s application were in favor of the proposal.

More than 200 people gathered at Coffin Elementary School Tuesday night for the four-hour, standing-room-only meeting to consider the proposed 10-year, 40-acre lease site on Maquoit Bay.

If the application is approved by the Department of Marine Resources, Mere Point will expand from a limited-purpose aquaculture operation on a quarter acre to 40 acres of professional aquaculture farming. The company’s annual harvest last year was 60,000 oysters, and the applicants say the yield could increase to 1.5 million in the next three years.

The hearings to evaluate the ecological and general impact at the proposed site began last November.

Brunswick Town Councilor Stephen Walker spoke in support of the application on Tuesday night, saying  Maqouit Bay was “never a hotbed for lobster fishing.”

Others also expressed support for a “larger-scale” aquaculture site.

Those who oppose the expansion include some commercial fishermen and lobstermen, along with a group of Brunswick residents, mostly from Mere Point, who refer to themselves as the Maquoit Bay Preservation Group.

The hearing started with almost a half hour of comments by preservation group members, who said they were opposed to the site being considered, the loss of fishing grounds and potential navigational challenges. Many also expressed support for the commercial lobstermen who had testified previously.

The lobstermen claim that the lease location would contribute to a loss of revenue and greatly impact their way of life if they couldn’t set traps in the area.

In previous testimony, applicants Doug Niven and Dan Deveraux said lobstermen and oyster farmers can “coexist.”

Paul Dioli, who is a member of the preservation group, said although Niven and Deveraux designated 12 acres of the lease site as navigable area, navigation around moorings in the proposed lease space is dangerous and adds more travel time from one side of the lease site to the other.

Preservation group member Nicolas Rathbone said noise that will be generated by the business makes the proposed site the “worst possible spot.” He said he also believed that despite the “navigable area,” there would be “challenges” to any navigation throughout the proposed site.

Although lobstermen expressed concern over losing the area, others who work and live around the water said they don’t often see lobster buoys anywhere around the lease site.

Resident Brian O’Connor said Maine needs a new industry that can create jobs. He said he understands that “change is hard,” but the site would occupy less than 2 percent of the bay for a decade, and DMR should approve the application “as soon as possible.”

After the hearing concluded, Deveraux said he still anticipates a long road ahead.

“We’ve learned that we have much more support than we initially did and that’s nice for us to feel,” he said. “… We are trying to do the right thing here by Maine’s ecosystem, and we really think we are doing the right thing by keeping the working waterfronts alive.”

DMR officials did not say when they expect to reach a decision, but to save time, attorneys were asked to provide their closing arguments in writing.

More than 200 people attended the final hearing Jan. 15 on an aquaculture operation proposed for Maquoit Bay in Brunswick.

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