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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-07 Nantucket Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Minutes September 7,2010 Conference Room, Town Annex, 37 Washington Sy. Call to Order at 4:31PM: Members present Dr. Boyce (in the chair), Mr. Glowacki, Ms. McCrae, Mr. Rank. Mr. Smith Members Absent, Mr. Blount Mr. Holdgate, From Marine Dept Mr Fronzuto, Ms. Riley, Mr. Herr From the BOS: Mr. Willauer. Chairman's Report: Harbor Related Research: Dr. Boyce summarized the list of speakers at the symposium on Harbor Related Research sponsored by ReMain and the Nantucket Community Association on August 24. He reported that it drew a large crowd of over 100 people, and the talks were well received. He offered to write a letter thanking ReMain and urging them to make this an annual event. Dr. Willauer said he had heard excellent feedback about the event. Motion by Mr. Smith seconded by Mr. Glowacki to have the Chairman write such a letter. Adopted unanimously. Mr. Smith suggested inviting ReMain to a SHAB meeting. Dr. Boyce agreed to do so. Approval of minutes: (4:35pm) Dr. Boyce distributed the minutes from the last meeting. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote of the members who attended the last meeting. Marine Department Report: (4:37) Operations: Mr. Fronzuto reported that Race Week had a full Harbor. The MCRD received a Clean Harbor Award from ReMain for their efforts. Dye tablets were issued to all boats and they pumped 5,900 gallons of sewage - 1,000 gallons more than last year. 1,200 - 1,400 boats were hauled out before Hurican Earl with only two problems. After the storm there were 4 Boats sunk and 3 on the beach, which was not too bad in comparison with other hurricanes. They mandated evacuation, which everyone complied with. Charter boats sought shelter in Polpis Harbor. SMP: Mr. Fronzuto is setting dates with Urban Harbors Institute for first presentation. The same team will be working with us as did the Harbor Plan. He will keep us informed about the dates and schedule. Water Sampling: Ms. Riley and her crew have been doing a marvelous job collecting samples. It is a large amount of work. Mr. Fronzuto is working with Health Dept. and talking about a shared position. Dr Boyce asked about dates when we would get results. We will get a draft report in February, with a final report in May, and a public forum to present the results scheduled in June. We will get the raw data back. Dave is working on sources to fund ways to collate the last 20 years of data and put it in a comprehensive database to make it easily and usefully accessible!. Dr. Boyce said that SHAB would help support his efforts to get funding. Dr. Boyce offered to collaborate with the MCRD on methods of making year to year comparisons. Lifeguarding operations: The lifeguard staff this year is being recognized by the Lifesaving Museun for their work. They had more rescues than in any previous year, and no fatalities. Harmful Algal Bloom(HAB): Ms. Riley has pictures of the HAB on 30 August which show widespread dispersal of the bloom, with heavy concentrations in the Harbor. She said she would not be putting her present spawned larvae out into the Harbor, and into this algal bloom, which would just kill them. Instead, she is doing an experiment to asses the amount of damage the 1 Bay Scallop larvae at differing concentrations of the algal bloom. Mr. Rank asked if the bloom moves around with the tide. Ms. Riley says that it does. Mr. Glowacki asked if the bloom was tied directly to too much nitrogen in the Harbor, as was stated at a meeting last spring. Since the bloom exists throughout Nantucket Sound, is it fair to balme the problem on pollution in the Harbor? Dr. Boyce said that the situation is not as simple as sometimes stated. Mr. Fronzuto added that the nutrient situation probably contributes, but is not the whole picture. But, now that we have the organism in the Harbor, we will be stuck with it for the future. Dr. Boyce added that, when the water temperature drops, the organism forms cysts which drop to the bottom, ready to re-emerge when conditions again become favorable. Spat Bags: The Marine Dept. collected their third round of spat bags. There is definite evidence of much of the larvae being washed out of the Harbor. She will consider how to collect these larvae next year and return them to the Harbor. Growout: Ms. Riley noted that one the floating upwellers (FLUPSY) were damaged, creating an emergency where the staff had to get scallops out of the damaged FLUPSY quickly. Mr. Fronzuto noted that he has funding to replace the east finger pier ext winter. He will add a wave barrier to the new east finger pier at that time, which will help to protect the FLUPSYs. Old Business: Progress on Shellfish Management Plan: Mr. Willauer reported that the contract with (UHI) will be executed tomorrow night (August 4). The BOS will establish a committee to oversee the development of the SMP. This will be the first SMP in the state. Mr. Fronzuto noted that UHI is excited to be working on this. Comment on Article in Paper: Dr. Boyce noted that a recent article in the paper seemed to confuse the larval release with grown out scallops, and these are not comparable. Dr. Boyce asked if a letter to the editor might help to educate the public. The consessus was that we should try to get the paper todo a story on the progress being made in the boathouse. Dr. Boyce said he would approach the paper. Comments: Dr. Willauer asked if there were fewer jellyfish in the Harbor. Dr. Boyce said the Dr. Kennedy was sampling jellies this summer, and the data would be available at the end of the season. Dr. Willauer asked if there was a problem with ticketing of trailers during the haulout. Mr. Fronzuto said no, this had occurred previously, but not this time. Dr. Willauer said he heard the parking was a problem. Mr. Fronzuto said that will be addressed during any future storm. Mr. Fronzuto noted that people were stealing sandbags and lumber which had been staged preparatory to installing a wave barrier. Ms. McCrae raised again the issue of writing a letter to the editor. Mr. Fronzuto said he could draft a letter if the Board thought that was important. Mr. Glowacki noted that we can not control what the press writes and we should drop it. Ms. McCrae said she thought we should do this. Mr. Fronzuto thought that it would be better to try to get the reporter to do a follow-up article to highlight what Tara has been able to accomplish. Dr. Boyce said he would call Elliot Baker to suggest that a followup story might be done. Ms. McCrae commended the MCRD for their efforts in preparing for the hurricane. She asked why some people left their boats in the water. Mr. Fronzuto said that the boats left were anchored with extra ground tackle. However, some people just don't believe that boats have to be hauled. Dr. Willauer said that the 100 boats were left out because they are safer in the water. Ms. McCrae then complimented the lifeguards for their work. Shellfish Closure: Ms. Riley said they are not considering any closures this year. 2 Election of Secretary: The election of Secretary was carried over to the next meeting. Shellfish Management Plan: Mr. Willauer reported that there is some problem with insurance. Mr. Fronzuto said the can help with the solution. Annual Report: Dr. Boyce noted that he has not done it. Ms. McCrae offered to help. Dr. Boyce said he would do it if he can get to it. Article 68 Work Group: The group is working hard. The quickest way to achieve regulation is through the Board of Health regulations. A manual of Best Management Practices will be the central item from which regulations and educational materials will be drawn. Ms. McCrae said she has never seen a more dedicated group of people working on a topic, and that it is gelling nicely. New Business: Scalloper's Ball: Will be held at the Nantucket Yacht Club on October 16. Clean Harbor Award: ReMain Nantucket bestowed a Clean Harbor Award on the SHAB for our efforts this last year. Dr. Boyce promised to write a thank you letter. Comments: Mr. Smith has been asked to give a presentation at the GHYC. He asked Ms. Riley if she would help with the presentation. Ms. Riley will be out of town that weekend. Ms. Riley said she would provide a presentation at the Scalloper's Ball. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:32 Respectfully submitted, Peter Boyce, Chair 3