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Home My WebLink About2018-3-6Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road *HSAB meeting are video -recorded Members present: Andy Lowell, Ken Gullicksen, Bill Blount, Peter Brace Members Absent: Joe LiPuma, Frederick McClure, Kent Kuntz o Marine Dept: Sheila Lucey 15; tE Z Natural Resources Dept: Tara Riley c y A Others: Matt Herr, Mark Anderwaldw G n � f CALL TO ORDER 6:00 p.m. N- r 0 APPROVAL OF AGENDA Unanimously approved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Draft minutes of Dec. 19, 2017 Unanimously approved. Draft minutes of Feb. 6, 2018 Unanimously approved. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Petrel Landing - Update No report. MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT: General Marine Department report — Sheila Lucey Ms. Lucey reported that the floating docks off the south side of the town pier were broken in eight places by Winter Story Riley, the floats at the F Street Pier and at Jackson Point were lost to the storm, that there was damage to Children's Beach, some moorings compromised and the Polpis Harbor Channel was "completely shoaled over". Ms. Lucey said that due to the large amount of repairs and cleanup required in the harbors as a result of Riley, the environment -friendly mooring pilot project is being put off until 2019. Mr. Lowell asked for more details on the sand issues at Children's Beach. Ms. Lucey said that the first of row of moorings were relocated by the storm and lots of sand got pushed up on the beach. She added a three-foot wall of eelgrass was pushed up on the shore and half way down the town pier in front of the Marine Department office. I......A_4........ 1_. She added that the fixed pier didn't sustain very much damage, just the loss of several planks and some batter boards, along with the loss of one finger pier and another that's half -submerged. Mr. Lowell asked for an update on maintenance dredging for Polpis Harbor. Ms. Lucey said she'd ask Deputy Police Chief Charlie Gibson and then get back to Mr. Lowell. Ms. Lucey said in preparation for the mooring pilot project, she, the HSAB and Mr. Gibson will have to work on amendments to the mooring regulations to accommodate mooring owners who don't want to participate in the pilot project in 2019. She added that she can also continue to search enviro-mooring providers as well. Ms. Lucey assured the board that this pilot project would not disappear and Mr. Lowell indicated that she should not worry and attend to the immediate needs of the harbors. Ms. Lucey added that Riley did lots of erosion -related damage all around the island. NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT General Natural Resources Department report — NRD staff Ms. Riley reported not much storm damage at the shellfish hatchery except that high water temporarily cut off access to the hatchery and it did lose power for a while. She added that she knew of no scallop strandings during this storm. She reported that the state's Division of Marine Fisheries extended its shellfish closure due to the storm, except for scallops. She added that the hatchery is getting shellfish upweller tanks for the dock and that she is running electricity to out onto the dock to run the upwellers. Additionally, she said she is advertising for hatchery technicians and two full-time seasonal positions. Mr. Lowell noted that there are nine boats between the Marine and Natural Resources departments, and that assistant town shellfish biologist Leah Cabral is looking for a boat to work her oyster reef in Shimmo Creek. Mr. Lowell asked Ms. Riley for a water quality report on Nantucket Harbor. Ms. Riley said she hadn't received the results of her most recent round of sampling yet. Mr. Gullicksen asked for an update on the scallop season. Ms. Riley said she didn't have that information. PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT Mr. Hen asked Ms. Lucey how extensive the shoaling is in the Polpis Harbor channel. Ms. Lucey said she'd get back to him once she got up there to take some soundings. She said her department provided 2.5 feet at low tide in 2017, but she said she didn't know if she could offer that depth this year. OLD BUSINESS Eco -friendly moorings — Continued discussion Mr. Gullicksen suggested that sometime during the summer, Ms. Lucey could indentify who's moorings are in the proposed pilot project area and then reach out to their owners in order to get a jump on this project. Ms. Lucey agreed. HSAB Goals and Objectives The board agreed to discuss this topic after the Town Election in April. Commercial fishing vessel survival — Bill Blount - Discussion Mr. Blount explained how all fisheries cycle through natural up and down cycles, and he advised the board and by extension, the town, to be supportive of and have patience for its local commercial fishermen. Mr. Blount continued to explain how the commercial fisheries work with the quota system in New England that favors larger fishing businesses and seems to squeeze out the smaller ones, and how it is affecting him. He said lately, though, he's had several decent fishing trips including a few for lobsters. He said he usually does two trips a month, but now he's doing three or four. However, the crappy weather has hampered his ability to get out and fish. He explained that certain fish stocks are growing including cod, which makes it tough on him because his quota for certain fish is limited, so he can't catch more fish than he's permitted for. Mr. Lowell asked Ms. Lucey how much bearing commercial activity vs. recreational in a given harbor has on a town getting state and or federal funding for harbor improvements and maintenance. Ms. Lucey said commercially, Nantucket rates high in terms of getting funding because of the ferry services and commercial barges. She said when work on the town pier is proposed, she gets asked about the charter fishing boats, but very rarely about commercial fishing vessels. Mr. Lowell asked Ms. Lucey of the status of the M/V Nautical Lady and if she's made it clear that this vessel isn't allowed in the harbor. She confirmed that the owner of the boat knows this and that she's heard he is selling this boat. Mr. Lowell also informed Ms. Lucey that the steel mooring ball that this boat was on is taking on water and is sitting low in the water. NEW BUSINESS Shellfish Public Outreach in relation to January harbor sewage discharge — Discussion Mr. Brace explained that this first meeting called by the town's new director of Culture and Tourism, Janet Schulte, was to get input on how she and town should properly inform the public that Nantucket Harbor is safe to swim in and eat shellfish from after 2.7 million gallons of sewage was discharged into the harbor as a result of the sewer line rupture on Jan. 4. Mr. Herr asked for clarification on the intent of this meeting. Mr. Brace explained the intent of the meeting again. Mr. Herr asked if the meeting was called because harbor water quality had gotten worse. Mr. Brace said it wasn't and added that it was called to restore consumer confidence. Mr. Lowell said that the bad news hadn't been countered yet and that this is one of the ways to do this. He said other coastal towns are using Nantucket's misfortune to really sell their shellfish products. He added that temporarily increasing the bushel limit to let scallopers catch what they couldn't during the closure during and after the discharge is not something Nantucket's commercial scallopers want. He also said he recently enjoyed half a pound of bay scallops from Nantucket Harbor and found them to be plump, sweet and delicious. Mr. Blount lamented the late season drop in the boat price to $11 /pound. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT Mr. Lowell introduced Mr. Anderwald and thanked him and Ginger Andrews for pulling papers to run for the HSAB in the 2018 Town Election. Ms. Lucey left the meeting at 7:05 p.m. RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING ADJOURN Unanimously at 7:07 p.m. Future Meetings: March 20 and April 3 Respectfully Submitted, Peter B. Brace, Secretary