HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-6Nantucket Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board
Minutes of Meeting held November 6, 2012
Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road
Approved:
Call to Order at 4:30 p.m.
Members Present:, Michael Glowacki, Dr. Peter Boyce, Wendy McCrae, Bill
Blount, Peter Brace
Members Absent:, Doug Smith, Chuck Connors
Public Safety /Marine Dept: Chief Pittman, Sheila Lucey,
Natural Resources Dept: Tara Riley, Jeff Carlson
Others: Matt Herr,
Approval of Agenda:
Unanimously approved.
Approval of Minutes:
No minutes
Chairman's Report:
The first meeting of SHAB in December will be Monday, Dec. 3 at 4:30pm, not
the usual Tuesday.
There will be training classes on the Open Meeting Law requirements on posting
agendas, and preparing and recording minutes on Dec 6. These are mandatory
for people preparing and posting agendas and minutes. Others may attend if they
wish. Call Erika Mooney to arrange attendance at one of three classes.
Marine Department Report:
Hurricane Sandy Storm Damage: Harbormaster Sheila Lucey reported that we
escaped major storm damage, however the Town Dock suffered damage to one
floating section and three of the finger piers. Replacing the floating dock and the
finger piers is estimated to cost about $19,000. The F Street dock in Madaket
received some damage to the floating section which can be repaired locally.
Scallop Regulation Enforcement: A one page summary (attached) has been
handed out to the commercial scallopers summarizing the penalties. The
wardens will no longer be able to hand out the punishment without having a
hearing as called for in the regulations. Violators will be issued a written warning
with a hearing date. In the case of the violation being the taking of seed, the
Town Shellfish Biologist, Tara Riley, will be the final arbiter on whether the
scallops are seed or adults. Since Tara will be away for 5 months, Sheila asked
that Dr, Boyce fill in as the final arbiter on the seed vs. adult question. He agreed
to do so.
Official Temperature: The official temperature gauge will be the NOAA site on
the Steamship pier. The temperature will be displayed on a monitor in the
window of the office at the Town Pier. Mr. Brace asked that the address of the
NOAA web site be posted on the Town Web site so that scallopers will have
access to the temperature via the Internet.
The Season: Harbormaster Lucey noted that there were about 50 boats fishing,
but that they were not coming in as early as they had some years in the past.
However, people were getting their limits.
Kayaks and Dinghies: The Town will collect the dinghies and kayaks left on
Town property. They will store them, notify the owners, whenever possible, and
auction them off in the spring. Ms. McCrae asked if the Town had picked up
dinghies in the past. Ms. Lucey said no, but that notices had been posted at all
locations. Chief Pittman noted that it is hard to locate the dinghy owners, but that
people would have the opportunity to reclaim their dinghy or kayak at any time up
until it is auctioned off. This action is being driven by the property owners
adjacent to the town property where the dinghies are stored.
Mr. Brace and Mr. Glowacki asked for clarification about the new method of
scallop regulation enforcement. The first violation calls for a suspension for up to
30 days. The second violation calls for suspension of one week. Dr. Boyce noted
that the violation for overfilled boxes should be separated out from that for too
many boxes. Sheila Lucey and Chief Pittman noted the inconsistencies in the
Town regulations, and stated that the regulations should be re- written. His staff
will produce a draft outline of what the new regulations should address. Dr.
Boyce noted that the Board had earlier discussed re- writing the quahog
regulations. This will be factored into the revisions. Chief Pittman promised that
the Board will be involved in developing the new regulations. Ms. McCrea asked
where it says that the penalty for a first time offense was suspension of the
license for one day. Chief Pittman noted it was in the Town Bylaws, but that a
suspension without having a hearing first was unconstitutional. His thought was
that a hearing should be done by an appointed Hearing Officer, rather than the
BOS as called for at present. However, until the Bylaw can be rewritten, the BOS
is the responsible hearing board. It was clarified that this item will be put on the
Dec 3 agenda, at which point there will be a draft outline of the regulations ready
for discussion.
Natural Resources Department Report:
Seed Stranding: Tara Riley noted that seed strandings from Hurricane Sandy
had been anticipated, and that a number of people had agreed to walk the
beaches looking for any strandings. There were no major strandings. However,
about 15 bushels of seed were rescued from the end of Rabbit Run Road.
Zanzibar: Tara Riley noted that she and Leah Cabral will be leaving for Zanzibar
later in the week, returning on Dec 13. They will be helping the local women set
up a shellfish hatchery for the propagation of blood arcs, a local delicacy.
Boathouse: At their next meeting, the BOS will be accepting a quitclaim deed for
the Brant Point Boathouse, so the Town will finally own it.
Questions: Ms. McCrae noted that she thought it would have been good to
have Mr. Fronzuto at the meeting to report on the Public Safety aspects of the
hurricane. Chief Pittman said that Dave is busy assembling the damage numbers
for submission to the state.
Boat Ramp: Chief Pittman noted that some scallop fishermen had opened the
flood gate at the Children's Beach boat ramp after the storm, but before it had
been surveyed for damage. Also someone opened the ramp the night of the
storm and the Town had to use a Town truck to hold the gate shut which resulted
in the truck being flooded with salt water. The Town will look at locking the gate
in the future.
Old Business:
Meeting dates: The Board discussed the possibility of meeting once per month
during the holiday season. However, it was decided that SHAB should meet
twice a month during this time as the scallop season will be in full swing, and we
will be working on the new regulations.
New Business:
Town Report: Mr. Brace passed out the draft of the SHAB report to the Town.
The Board approved his draft, and he will submit it to the Town.
Adjournment: 5:33 pm
Next Meetings:
November 20 and December 3
Respectfully submitted,
Peter Boyce, Acting Secretary
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