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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-1-3Nantucket Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board Minutes of Meeting held Jan. 3, 2012 Approved: Jan 17, 2011 Conference Room, 2 Fairgrounds Road Call to Order at 4:32 p.m. Members Present: Dr. Peter Boyce, Bill Blount, Michael Glowacki, Wendy McCrae, Doug Smith and Peter Brace Members Absent: Bob Rank Marine Dept: Dave Fronzuto BOS: Whitey Willauer Approval of Agenda: Unanimously approved. Approval of Minutes: Unanimously approved. Chairman's Report: No report. Others: Lindsey Pykosz, Fred Holdgate Marine Department Report: Mr. Fronzuto z o Z N C "U n io � N m rn o -n �E 3 z C'> r w m cn rn n M rn C; Commercial season report Mr. Fronzuto reported that the scallop count is up around 11,600 bushels, that the commercial scalloping boats are more or less split between town and Madaket and that he is on vacation. He added that there were about 35 boats going the last week of December and that on Dec. 30, there were some double limits brought in, but a lot of singles. Mr. Willauer asked on behalf of the Nantucket Shellfish Association whether or not scallops exceeding diameter of inside of the plastic ring, 2.5 inches, would be adults. Mr. Fronzuto said that if the growth ring is less than 10 millimeters but the shell is 2.5 inches in height or taller, scallopers can harvest them. Mr. Fronzuto added that he saw a lot of scallops on Dec. 30 that had their growth rings very high up on their shells. Mr. Smith said he's seen all different types of scallops this year and Mr. Fronzuto added that the scallops were "phenomenal" in Madaket this year and he agreed with Mr. Smith. Mr. Fronzuto said the Marine Department handed out sections of plastic rulers cut to 2.5 inches to scallopers last November so they'd be able to gauge whether or not their scallops were adults. Mr. Smith said his first mate is occasionally fooled by large seed and Mr. Fronzuto, acknowledging that this can be a problem, reported that his department has only dealt with one scalloper with too much seed so far this season. Mr. Brace asked if scallops were still being harvested on the north side of Tuckernuck and Mr. Fronzuto said they were. Old Business: Water quality funding — next steps Dr. Boyce asked Mr. Fronzuto for the status on the idea of getting the town to fund the Marine Department's water quality funding. Mr. Fronzuto said that when the proposed article goes before the Finance Committee, he would let HSAB know when that meeting is. Shellfish Management Plan Dr. Boyce reported that due the holidays, the Shellfish Management Plan committee hadn't met recently, but he recapped for the board where the committee was in producing the plan. The committee was scheduled to have a meeting in about 10 days at which time a draft of the plan is expected to be ready. New Business: Commercial shellfish license fees Mr. Fronzuto said that he was surprised to hear from Mr. Rank and Matt Herr that the fishermen weren't satisfied that 30 days was enough of a penalty for late -entry scallopers who bought their licenses after the March 31 deadline and that maybe the license fee for late -entry fishermen should be doubled. He reminded the board that the commercial shellfish license costs $250 and that for all other shellfish species minus scallops, the fee is $150. He acknowledged that there wasn't much protest from fishermen that last time the commercial scallop fee was increased, this time from $150 to $250. Mr. Fronzuto reported that he would be making $17,000 worth of electrical upgrades to the boathouse marine lab this year and that the monthly electric bill during the summer is around $2,200, both of which are expenses that increased revenues from license fees could help with. Mr. Fronzuto asked the board if it wanted to raise license fees, proceed with a home rule petition to get 100% of license fees for the propagation fund and explore increasing the fees for late entries. Mr. Frozuto stressed the importance of being clear about what a late entry is: a year - round resident who didn't buy their license by the March 31 deadline but decided they want to scallop after all. He clarified that this is not a hardship license. It is a 30 -day delayed entry; 30 days from the start of the season if purchased before Nov. 1 or 30 days from the date purchased if purchased after the season starts. Ms. McCrae said she was "totally" opposed to doubling the late entry fee because to have a late fee is OK, but doubling isn't fair. She added that she understood that the late -entry scallopers suck up a lot of the scallops that the scallopers who fish the entire season depend on in February and March, but she could not vote for doubling the late entry license fee up to $500 because the people seeking this license may have lost their job or be generally in dire need of money for survival. Ms. McCrae said the 30 -day delay is a penalty in itself. Mr. Glowacki agreed. Mr. Brace agreed with Ms. McCrae and Mr. Glowacki and suggested a compromise, maybe adding $100 to the fee. Mr. Fronzuto said the idea is to make annual fishery last the full five months, so doling out late entry licenses and coupons at least from Dec. 1 on helps achieve this and he agreed with Ms. McCrae's feeling that some people really are in tough spots when they apply for late entry, as he recently had one or two people apply for that reason. But he added that he feared the extreme situation of the year in the 1990s during poor economic conditions when 50 people applied for what were then called hardship licenses. He added that after the selectmen rejected his approval of all 51, he had to develop regulations for late -entry scallopers and using them, admitted late 36 2 fishermen to the scallop fishery that year. He added that this season, had several people apply for and get late -entry licenses who haven't used them yet because they found other work. Ms. McCrae asked for the two fishermen in the room to comment on this issue. Mr. Smith said he is biased because he depends on his March income from scalloping. He said that although he felt that $500 might seem a bit high, but as he earns his living year -round from fishing and after March 31, he is off until his charter - fishing job begins in early June, he depends on harvesting scallops in March. Mr. Fronzuto said the discussion needs to continue and that nothing should be decided at this meeting, and that Mr. Blount, Mr. Rank and Mr. Herr need to contribute to it. Mr. Smith asked Mr. Fronzuto if there was ever a late -entry fisherman who started in March. Mr. Fronzuto replied he didn't think so. Mr. Holdgate said that if the year -round resident didn't get their license before March 31, then it's their fault. But he didn't see a good reason why the fee should be increased for late entries because they have the 30 days to deal with and then they still have to a rig a scallop boat, but the ones who regularly buy their licenses before March 31 have their boats rigged already because it's insurance against lack of work during the winter. Mr. Fronzuto said there are between 25 to 35 people who buy their license every year but have never scalloped because they want to contribute to the propagation fund, they may fish several times a year to get scallops for themselves, but they don't have an impact on the fishery. He reminded the board several years ago that it reduced the number of bushels from five per day to two for the 60 -year- old - and -over licenses and how well it's worked. Mr. Brace asked Mr. Fronzuto other than the year he issued 36 late -entry licenses, what years did a lot of such scallopers significantly impact the fishery. Mr. Fronzuto said this year, 12 to 15 people purchased late -entry licenses, but none of the recent purchasers have picked up their licenses yet, but that's because, at least a few of them found work for the winter or longer. He added that he agreed with Mr. Holdgate and said that of those 12 to 15 late -entry people only two or three are actually fishing. The rest found work since getting their licenses. Mr. Blount said that he had a guy scalloping with him who he was training to fish on his own, but then this guy got a construction job (and stopped fishing), so Mr. Blount agreed that far fewer late- entries actually use their licenses. But, he added that some years he's broke in March and can't afford the commercial license before the deadline, so he understands where the late - entry fishermen are coming from when they say they're financially strapped. Dr. Boyce said, because the sentiment on this issue is so strong, the board should advertise a public hearing for a future meeting on this issue. Ms. McCrae said she didn't think there was a need for public hearing because there isn't enough support for raising these fees. She asked Dr. Boyce to explain his original rationale for raising the fees. Dr. Boyce said that the board felt it needed to find a way to limit the number of late entries because the 30 -day delay wasn't sufficient, so the idea for a higher fee was floated. Ms. McCrae said she appreciated Mr. Smith's comments that he is biased and added that for the board to support raising the late -entry fee to $500 would make it biased toward the regular fishermen. She stated it's the board's responsibility to represent anyone who wants to fish Nantucket waters at any time of the year. Dr. Boyce said he completely disagreed, saying that HSAB's job is ensuring the fishery stays healthy and if the longer season is a more healthy thing, then that's a fishery issue separate from the fishermen themselves. He admitted that there is a conflict of interest issue here, the four non - fishermen on the board would have to do the voting. Ms. McCrae countered that if the board voted to support the existing fishermen, the board would be in conflict because the board would be representing a select few. Dr. Boyce disagreed, saying that representing the fishermen is not a conflict of interest, that it's only a conflict of interest if a voting member benefits from a HSAB decision. The non - fishermen members would not benefit from such a decision, so there is no conflict of interest. Ms. McCrae noted that if you pay your gas bill late, you pay a late fee. If you pay any bill late, you pay a late fee. She said she's not against a late fee, just doubling the existing late entry fee. Mr. Brace agreed and added that the fee could go up just enough to make people think twice about not buying their license before the deadline, be it a $50- increase or $150. Mr. Glowacki said there needs to be an economic need to raise the fee, otherwise it's an unfair discriminatory tax. Mr. Fronzuto agreed with Ms. McCrae's analogy and added that the late fee on bills equates to the 30 -day delayed entry, and that raising the fee may or may not work. He added that the board also needed to discuss raising the regular commercial scallop license fee. Mr. Brace said the board would have a better chance getting more revenue from increasing the propagation fund take from license fees to 100% than counting on extra money from late entry fees. Mr. Fronzuto agreed, saying that late -entry people will eventually decrease, but the extra license fee revenue would be permanent, especially if the harvests level out and become sustainable. Mr. Holdgate said it's important that the high amount of seed in the water this year needs to become the norm. Mr. Fronzuto said the discussion needs to continue and Dr. Boyce said that the discussion on raising the regular commercial license fee can only be supported by the fishermen and the public if Ms. Riley is able to keep the harvests at or above a certain level, so people know the extra money is worth it. Mr. Smith said he agreed with Mr. Brace. Mr. Fronzuto said the board also needs to discuss whether to raise the recreational fee. Mr. Blount said he's in favor of raising the license fee, but not higher than what a scalloper can earn (net of $300 -$350) in one day. Mr. Smith agreed with Mr. Blount. Mr. Glowacki said the way to go is out of the general fund; getting the other 25% of license fees to go into the propagation fund as long as scallopers and the public see this as a worthwhile expenditure of these funds. Ms. McCrae stated that this topic did not have enough advance notice and that it should have been advertised for discussion on Jan. 3 if that's when the board wanted to discuss it. Mr. Holdgate said the agenda was posted 48 hours in advance of the meeting, but Ms. McCrae said the board must stick to the posted agenda. Dr. Boyce said the license fees discussion would continue at the Jan. 17 meeting. Dr. Boyce asked for fund expenditures for last year. Mr. Fronzuto said he could get that as well as the budget for this year. Adjournment: 5:32 p.m. Unanimously approved Next Meetings: Jan. 17, and Feb. 7 and 21 Respectfully submitted, Peter B. Brace, Secretary 4