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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHSAB Minutes -February 15, 2011_201402051348589322Nantucket Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Minutes of Meeting held February 15, 2011 Approved: March 15, 2011 Conference Room, Town Annex, 37 Washington St. Call to Order at 4:31PM: Members present: Dr. Boyce (in the chair), Mr. Blount, Mr. Glowacki, Mr. Rank, Mr. Smith Members Absent: Mr. Holdgate, Ms. McCrae, From Marine Dept: Ms. Riley, From the BOS: --- Others: Mr. Herr, Ms. Young, Mr. Solund, Mr. Lambrecht, Spanky Kania, Ms. Pykosz Approval of Agenda: Dr. Boyce proposed adding a new topic, Closure of Madaket Harbor for scalloping, and he proposed moving his presentation to the first item. There was no objection. Presentation: Dr. Boyce gave his presentation (copy of slides available). Approval of Minutes: Mr. Rank noted that we was listed as both present and absent. He was absent. Mr. Glowacki moved(Mr. Rank second) approval of the minutes, as corrected, of the January 18, 2011, meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Chairman’s Report: Dr. Boyce noted that all Board members have to take an online ethics test. Marine Department Report: (4:45pm) Commercial scalloping: The bushel count is up to 6,500 bushels as of yesterday. There are 27 active boats, but only about ten working on any given day. Closing of Madaket Harbor: Ms. Riley then proposed that Madaket Harbor be closed to fishing as there are reports of lots of seed there, and almost no one fishing there. Spanky commented that the seed is not in deep water, and there are virtually no adults left. He worried that there were no scallops in the inner Harbor. Nothing is growing in the Warren’s Landing area which has been devoid of scallops all year. Mr. Smith suggested putting caged scallops in Warrens Landing to see how they fare. Mr. Smith moved (Mr. Rank second) that SHAB send a letter to the BOS recommending closure. The motion passed unanimously. Dr. Boyce asked if the Eider Ducks have discovered the seed. Spanky said no, probably because there are no mussels there to attract them. Mr. Smith said that there were 5-6 seed scallops in every Eider Duck he has shot this year in Nantucket Harbor. Mr.Smith suggested moving seed into the Warren’s Landing area to try to re-establish a population of scallops there. Spanky said there were four different sizes of seed in Madaket, and he was afraid that people might try to take 1 the larger seed. Mr. Sjolund asked when the closure would take place. Ms. Riley replied that it would be done as soon as possible. Old Business: (5:02pm) Shellfish Management Plan: Dr. Boyce reported that the SMP Committee worked on the goals at its meeting today. Mr. Herr reported that the Urban Harbors people had prepared a good list of goals and that the Committee as a group added their comments and suggestions and will finish the outline of the goals in their next meeting in two weeks on March 1. Mr Smith noted this was still a work in progress. A public forum will be held on March 20. The SMP will also be presented at the meet the articles forum on March 26. Mr. Glowacki proposed that SHAB ask the estuaries study authors to supply a reference to the underlying science. The NP&EDC had asked for this 15 years ago, and Mr. Glowacki has asked multiple times since then. Mr. Herr commented that one of the principles used in preparing the SMP was that this should be a consensus document – to get cooperation from all the stakeholders. Enforcement will be better if the fishermen are on board with the document. Monitoring fertilizer usage will be better if the applicators are on board with the goals. He wants to start with measured approaches based on facts; take small steps first to build confidence, but still keep the ultimate goals in mind as we make progress. He want to move forward based on facts and using adaptive management to progress based on what we learn. Mr. Glowacki again raised the issue of substantiating the data on fertilizer leach rates. Dr. Boyce pointed out that another letter from Nantucket would have no effect, and suggested requesting the Urban Harbors team to ask Dr. Howse for appropriate references to back up the data used to create the Estuaries study model for Nantucket. Mr. Smith noted that the Estuaries study used measured leach rates on Cape Cod, and that we have factual data of the amount of nitrate and phosphate in the water. So, we know nutrients are too high in our waters. He sees decline of water quality tracking the buildout within the watershed. He also said that Nantucket leach rates are higher than for Cape Cod. Mr. Glowacki said that we have hypothetical models, and underneath those models we have a whole series of assumptions, and underneath all those assumptions we have the leach rate data. The MCRD has references to studies on pure sand (as well as other soil types) that disagree with the leach rates used in the Estuaries Study. Mr. Glowacki wants to know the data and the specific references that were used to develop the Estuary Study models. Article 68 Workgroup: Ms. Young said the Work Group wanted to educate fertilizer applicators. To that end they developed a new document on the Best Management Practices for the application of fertilizer on Nantucket(BMP). The draft has been released for public comment. If everyone using fertilizer on Nantucket would read and understand the BMP, almost no nitrogen would be entering the ground water due to fertilizer usage. She said they are asking for comments and suggestions. Mr. Smith commented that earlier on we were talking about certification. Ms. Young responded that the BMP is a component of the proposed local regulations adopted by the Board of Health which would be based on education and certification of professionals. All the documents are on the Town website. Mr. Smith said the BMP seems complicated. The Work Group will make some easy summaries for lay people, and will work to provide information to be included in the Blue pages document being prepared by the HPIC. 2 3 Accuracy of Town Thermometer (5:35) Dr. Boyce said he was approached by a scalloper who thought the official thermometer was reading high, and that scallopers are putting seed scallops at risk by taking them out of the water on cold days. Mr. Smith and Mr. Rank said that in their opinion the official scallop thermometer reads lower than other thermometers on the island. Mr. Rank said that, in any event, there is no data supporting the assumption of damage to the seed. The Board did not want to pursue this issue farther. There was no consensus on the Board to make any comments about the thermometer. Recap and Items for Next Meeting: Discuss Propagation Fund budget Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:41pm Next Meetings: March 1 and 15, April 18, 2011, and 15, 2011 Respectfully submitted, Peter Boyce, Chair