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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-6-19Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board June 19, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. Conference Room, 2 Fairgrounds Road Members present: Chuck Connors, Bill Blount, Dr. Peter Boyce, Wendy McCrae, Peter Brace, Michael Glowacki, Members Absent: Doug Smith Marine Dept: Sheila Lucey, BOS: Whitey Willauer Natural Resources Dept. Jeff Carlson, Tara Riley, Kelley, Coughlan, Stephen Heck, Leah Cabral Others: Police Chief Pittman, Dan Pronk, Matt Herr, z o D CALL TO ORDER Z r~v 4:30 P.M. C= rri -� APPROVAL OF AGENDA � .. 4 CO Unanimously approved ° -� z APPROVAL OF MINUTES M w Unanimously approved Mrs. McCrae abstained. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT M M M C7 Meeting room Change: We will be moving our SHAB meetings from the current location (Conference room, 2 Fairgrounds Road). New location will be the community room at 4 Fairgrounds Road. Meeting will now be at 5:00 P.M. Update of license fee revenue distribution of 75% to 100% to the propagation fund - Draft article for review: Mr. Brace presented a draft. I motion was approved to submit our draft. Mr. Glowacki opposed. MARINE DEPARTMEN REPORT Shiela Lucey reports that the Madaket boat ramp has been temporarily repaired. It will be fully repaired in October. She mentioned that ramp at Jackson Point is excellent. The buoys at the head of the harbor are not in yet. She received a week extension due to weather. She also reported that Dionis will once again have life guards this year. The town pier is filling up. Ms. Lucey mentioned that figawi wasn't a problem for them. On the fourth, life guards will be moved to Nobadeer beach. The fireworks will not be on brought over on the steamship; they will be brought over on a barge. PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT No public comments OLD BUSINESS Dan Pronks quahog permit request. The board has yet to make a decision on whether we would support Mr. Pronk's pump dredging operation. Our concerns are mainly related to bycatch. Mr. Pronk stated that he would have to relay on bycatch and that only 10 bushels of quahogs wouldn't be enough to support him. We are concerned that supporting the town to issue a pump dredging permit for quahogs that would allow for him to take as many conch as he wishes to take would be a misuse of the towns permit. Nantucket Conch fisherman cannot legally pump dredge for conch. They are allowed only 200 pots which limits the amount of conch they can catch in one day, they also cannot keep bycatch of any kind. If this town permit is issued, it would allow Mr. Pronk to target conch, and with no regulations in place there would be no limit to what he could take. For us to support a permit for a new town fishery that he applicant himself stated wouldn't be profitable unless he could take bycatch isn't something the majority of us at SHAB believe is lawful. If this permit is going to be issued with our support we would need to see some regulations in place regarding bycatch. If Mr. Pronk cannot make a living off 10 bushels of quahogs and is truly serious about catching them, then we should help him get the limit increased from 10 bushels to 20 bushels. A motion was made and died for lack of a second. Water Quality funding update: Mr. Glowacki stated that the board of selectman voted to fund the water quality monitoring contract using the water ways improvement fund. Mr. Glowacki would like know how active we (SHAB) would like to be on this issue. For the past couple of years the water ways improvement fund has been impinging on the infrastructure funds. The town used to get the funds from grants and so forth, but now they are just cannibalizing the infrastructure funds in order to cover the water quality improvements. Mr. Glowacki asked us do we think that it's worthy of discussion to expand the general fund. How do we go to the board of selectman and express SHABS importance with this issue and then see how the BOS feel about it. Dr. Boyce and Mr. Brace expressed their support for this and the general feeling is that SHAB believes it's important to expand the general fund to help pay the infrastructure funds. Dr. Boyce Striped bass report. Dr. Boyce showed a report put out by DMF about this years striped bass outlook. The Dr. reported that the Striped bass are in good shape and that there isn't any reason to close the striped bass commercial season. NEW BUSINESS Ms. Riley reported that the moorings weren't placed in the sand on Hulbert Ave and should be moved out of the eel grass and into the sand. Dr. Boyce reported that the moorings in Monomoy are also a problem. Whitey informed the group of a couple of upcoming meetings we should be interested in. One of them is on June 25th from 5 -7 at 4FG community room. This meeting will be going over the ins and outs of the coastal management plan. And the other is on Tuesday the 26`h at Maria Mitchell at 6:OOPM to talk about branding scallops. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT No public questions or comments RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Dan Pronk's quahog permit request. Moorings at Hulbert Ave. Injured boater during figawi. ADJOURN Unanimously approved Future Meetings: August 7th Respectfully Submitted, Chuck Connors, Secretary