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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-07-14Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road Members present: Peter Brace, Doug Smith, Wendy McCrae, Dr. Peter Boyce, Bill Blount Members Absent: Chuck Connors, Micheal Glowacki Marine Dept: Natural Resources Dept. Jeff Carlson Others: Ryan McPherson, Kona CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF AGENDA Unanimously approved APPROVAL OF MINUTES Unavailable for consideration CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Appointed board update Mr. Brace asked which direction the board should head in regards to the elected/appointed board issue. He reminded the board that the Board of Selectmen chair, Rick Atherton, said his board isn't going to pursue the matter any further. Ms. McCrae noted that in her nine -plus years on HSAB, board members recused themselves when necessary from discussions when a conflict of interest of them might arise. Dr. Boyce said he's good with the way the board is operating now. Mr. Smith said he wanted to speak with State Representative Tim Madden about this issue. Mr. Brace agreed to contact Mr. Madden and State Senator Dan Wolf on behalf of the HSAB in the near future. Dr. Boyce said it's very important in this instance to have the backing of the selectmen. Ms. McCrae noted that this issue has affected the morale of the HSAB and that the board's morale needs to be restored to what it was before this issue was brought it up in early January. Dr. Boyce agreed. Mr. Smith said it's definitely affected how he's commented on fishing related issues. Dr. Boyce said the real issue is do we file a new home rule petition article for the 2015 annual Town Meeting and securing the backing of the selectmen. He added that a partially appointed board is not the way to go because it means that part of the board's makeup is controlled by the selectmen. Two levels of membership feels like a legal workaround, he added. MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Harbors update — Sheila Lucey Ms. Lucey wasn't present at this meeting, so no report on the harbors. NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT General report from Jeff Carlson and or Tara Riley Mr. Carlson reported that the 2014 recreational scallop season started off well with 127 people going for scallops in Madaket on Oct. 4, the fourth day of the season. He added that divers and snorkelers are doing the best; pushrakers are getting '/2 to 3/a of a bushel in 60 -90 minutes. No incidents yet. Mr. Carlson announced the opening of Sesachacha Pond on Oct. 8 and Hummock Pond on Oct. 9 with the NRD doing the same sampling protocol for Hummock Pond as was done in the spring. He noted that Hummock Pond was open for a week in the spring and then had overwash until the 12'x' day of the opening. He reported that the boathouse pier repairs are completed and that the NRD is in the process of choosing a design team to design the renovation of boathouse. Mr. Carlson said the hatchery is pretty much shut down. Ms. McCrae noted Sesachacha is the Wampanoag translation of land of many berries. These include Concord grape, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry and beach plum. PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT Mr. McPherson asked what the aquaculture plan is for the town going forward. He noted that he's been checking in regularly with Mr. Carlson for the last two years. He said he's been on the waiting list for getting a lease in Nantucket Harbor for growing oysters. Mr. Brace reiterated what Ms. Riley said, that the NRD is waiting to gauge the public's acceptance of the current oyster growers in the Head of the Harbor, Coskata Pond and outside of Polpis Harbor. Mr. Carlson added that the "easy answer" is that the NRD is going to be giving a complete update on the aquaculture program. Mr. McPherson asked if there was any bottom available for lease. Mr. Carlson mentioned a new area in the harbor for town use for overwintering and propagation, a three -acre parcel inside Polpis Harbor and a plot for town use in the Head of the Harbor. All the other plots are full. There is also a space in between Steve Bender's and Simon Edwards' leases at Pocomo Meadows, but Mr. Carlson said it wasn't suitable for growing shellfish. Mr. McPherson asked how much total acreage for growing shellfish in Nantucket Harbor. Mr. Carlson there's 60 acres in the Head of the Harbor, another 12; a total of 87 altogether. Mr. Brace said that Mr. Carlson is saying in his explanation of the 87 acres that there is currently no available space within Nantucket Harbor to grant new leases for aquaculture. Mr. McPherson asked what the level of public assistance is right now. Mr. Brace told him that it hasn't been long enough to gauge how the public feels about the existing oyster farms in Nantucket Harbor. He added that Mr. McPherson should attend the next meeting so he can see the aquaculture presentation. OLD BUSINESS Seed stranding team status Mr. Brace asked about the automatic calling system to be set up by Bill Pitman. Mr. Smith said he needed to get Mr. Pitman the list of stranding volunteers and their phone numbers so they can be entered into the computer system. Mr. Carlson said this system is already in place and was set up last year. Draft Revised Nantucket Shellfish Regulations revisions (town counsel's version) - discussion Mr. Carlson said the aim for getting these regulations implemented is by April 1. Mr. Carlson estimated the selectmen most likely would hold a public hearing for these revised shellfish regulations at their second meeting in November. This would be the earliest the selectmen could hold this public hearing and that they can always continue that hearing as well. Ms. McCrae asked Mr. Carlson why the NRD is as opposed to the fishing on Saturday for days lost each week to inclement weather. Mr. Carlson said that he'd rather assess the situation as we move through January, February and March. He said that if Saturdays each week are given for fishing, it would difficult to go to the selectmen to get extra days at the end of the season if that's what the fishermen asked for. He also said that there's opposition from fishermen to Saturday fishing. Ms. McCrae recalled that the chairman of the Board of Selectmen asked herself and Mr. Brace at one of their previous meetings in the spring of 2014 when an extra week of fishing was requested to come up with a plan to deal with days lost to inclement weather rather asking for an extra week of fishing at the end of the season. She added that the scallopers lost around half of the season to inclement weather, that giving scallopers one make -up day a week was at least "a start", it was "something" to build on rather than waiting until the end of the season to ask the selectmen for an extra week of fishing, something that the state doesn't allow anyway. Mr. Carlson did not agree with Ms. McCrae. Dr. Boyce said he'd heard from several fishermen that Saturday fishing isn't the solution because those fishermen who'd hauled their boats for the season might be encouraged to fish on Saturdays as well. He pointed out that extending the season means changing state regulations. What he'd rather have is something within HSAB's power that can be executed immediately. Mr. Blount said an extra day a week for him means another chance to get a full limit. Kona said there shouldn't be Saturday fishing because there's only a certain amount of scallops and they can either be caught early or later in the season. Dr. Boyce noted in his scallop surveys they got a lot of nub scallops this year. Mr. Carlson said the intent of this regulation is to react to what happens during the season. He said the board should regularly assess the number of lost days and how the board should proceed. Mr. Brace offered that this could be a regular agenda item during the season and that he'd rather find a solution that works for everyone rather than going against the NRD. Mr. Blount reiterated that all the scallops in a fisherman's boxes need to be counted when a seed violation is in play. Ms. McCrae said she had a problem with Mr. Blount's name being written in red under Section 2.12 regarding this issue. Mr. Carlson explained that Mr. Blount's name was put in there as a reminder of whose issue this was that the NRD put in there, nothing more. Mr. Carlson said having to check every box, every scallop can take many hours and dramatically reduces the time a shellfish warden can be checking other scallopers. He said if they can find more than 5% in one or two of a scallopers' boxes, then it saves them from going through the rest their boxes. Ms. McCrae said with respect for the wardens' time checking boxes for seed, the scallopers spend all day dredging their scallops. The board agreed to continue this discussion to the Oct. 21, 2014 meeting. NEW BUSINESS HSAB report for FY14 — need board members edits and comments, if any There were no changes to the report from the HSAB present at this meeting. Large yacht mooring/anchoring regulations — possible revisions - discussions Mr. Smith asked that this item remain on the agenda for the Oct. 21, 2014. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING ADJOURN Unanimously approved Future Meetings: Oct. 21 and Nov. 4 Respectfully Submitted, Peter B. Brace, Chairman