FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     December 18, 2024                                 

Barnstable County Sheriff's Office Community Work Crew

helps with Falmouth shellfish propagation

FALMOUTH — Throughout the fall and winter, incarcerated individuals who are members of the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office’s Community Work Crew will be working alongside community volunteers to maintain the Falmouth Shellfish Department’s shellfish propagation program.

Community Work Crews began working on the Falmouth shellfish propagation program about 12 years ago, said Chuck Martinsen, Falmouth’s game warden and deputy director of the town’s Marine & Environmental Services.

“Our partnership with the Community Work Crew has so many benefits,” said Martinsen. Working next to people who are incarcerated “humanizes them,” he added.

“The work crew program helps us achieve our main mission at the Sheriff’s Office, which is to prepare incarcerated individuals for productive lives once released,” said Sheriff Donna D. Buckley. “Aquaculture is a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and traditional industry on the Cape. It’s an industry we are proud to support, and one we hope provides a path for our justice-involved population.”

For years the Sheriff’s Office has placed incarcerated individuals into work crews to tackle projects for government and nonprofit organizations. Their labor helps the community and government groups. For the incarcerated individuals, the benefits include gaining vocational expertise and soft skills such as timeliness, responsibility, and teamwork.

This year, the BCSO work crew has built and installed flower boxes for the JFK Museum in Hyannis, painted the Buzzard’s Bay Fire Station for the Bourne Fire Department, and helped with the setup of events including Cape Cod Canal Day, the Carousel of Light, and the Pan-Mass Challenge. 

Traditionally, work crews do carpentry, painting, landscaping, culinary, and maintenance jobs. Assisting with Falmouth’s shellfish propagation program makes perfect sense on Cape Cod, which has depended on fishing and aquaculture long before the phrase blue economy was ever spoken.

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing agricultural category in the state. And yet, attracting and retaining labor continues to be a challenge, as the cost of living escalates. 

Falmouth’s shellfish propagation program involves labor-intensive periods when community volunteers are called upon to help. This week, volunteers and the work crew members will be hauling oyster seedlings from the water to their indoor winter storage. They will be kept on ice during the coldest months of the year and returned to the water in March.