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Home My WebLink About2011-11-1Nantucket Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board Minutes of Meeting held on Nov. 12011 Approved: Conference Room, 2 Fairgrounds Road Call to Order at 4:35 p.m. Members Present: Wendy McCrae, Peter B. Brace, Bill Blount and Dr. Boyce Members Absent: Michael Glowacki, Bob Rank and Doug Smith Marine Dept: BOS: Others: Matt Herr, Bam LaFarge Approval of Agenda: Unanimously approved. Approval of Minutes: Unanimously approved. Chairman's Report: Dr. Boyce reported that the nor'easter of Oct. 30/31 blew lots of scallop seed up on north- facing inner harbor beaches including Quaise and between Pocomo and Wauwinet. On Nov. 1, Dr. Boyce estimated that at least 100 totes of seed totaling around 200 bushels were collected and returned to the harbor. Mr. Brace asked Dr. Boyce to describe the magnitude of this seed stranding in comparison to the stranding in November 2004. Dr. Boyce reported that it wasn't too bad in the lower part of the harbor, but that there was a huge amount of seed along the shore between Pocomo and Wauwinet. Dr. Boyce surmised that the stranded seed was produced by town shellfish biologist and released in Fifth Bend this summer. Dr. Boyce estimated that 700 to 800 bushels of stranded seed were rescued from the beaches and returned to the harbor. Dr. Boyce added that most scallopers got their limits before l Oam when he flew the red flag at the town pier signaling cessation of scalloping so stranded seed could be rescued. Mr. Herr reported that Oct. 31 was the day most people were helping gather seed on the beaches, but he could not say where the seed was put back into the harbor. He added that he thought one bushel out of 10 were adults washed up on the beach. Dr. Boyce agreed. Mr. Herr said that most of the seed they knew of that was up on the beach was moved back into the water on Nov. 1, but that shortly before they got done on that day, they found a pocket of seed in one foot of water just below the low tide mark from which they collected around 20 totes' worth in about 15 minutes using pushrakes and he worried that there were other pockets like that they hadn't found yet. But he did know of areas on Bass Point and a second pocket down near the Wauwinet with seed in shallow water from Pocomo Point down to that pocket. Dr. Boyce announced that HSAB's review of Simon Edwards' application for an aquaculture license was postponed. Matt Herr said he and other scallopers would go out again on Nov. 2 to try to recover more of the seed in the locations he mentioned above. He added that seed ending up on the beaches without anyone knowing about it can't happen again. Mr. Herr advised HSAB there needs to be an organized system of people checking harbor beaches during and after hard blows to locate stranded seed as quickly as possible and organize volunteers to get it back into deeper water. Mr. Herr said he and Ms. Riley got calls from people reporting seed on the beaches. They're first response was during high tide and then they went up harbor next day and found the seed on the beaches of Pocomo and Wauwinet. Mr. Brace suggested that people be found to commit to walk certain beaches during and after blows to report strandings to one person who could coordinate the rescue effort. Mr. Herr stated we need an awareness of where the seed is prior to the fall/winter storm season. He added that it all depends on the area where the seed is and how close it is to the beach in terms of its' potential to wash up during a given storm. He added that knowing where all the seed is in relation to wind direction and then having a core group of volunteers organized to check the beaches on which the wind is blowing would be key to forming some sort of seed stranding response team. Mr. Herr lamented that it's always the same small number of people who show up to get the seed off the beach and that we need to find a way to change this. Mr. Brace agreed with Mr. Herr and stated a list of fishermen and other islanders needs to be created, those people contact and organized somehow. Mr. Herr said that he felt that all of the scallopers should feel it their responsibility to help out free of charge and if they don't, then the usual volunteers need to be compensated somehow to maintain a dependable, consistent effort to save scallop seed. Mr. Herr said this core group is around 15 people but that there were around 20 to 25 people helping on Nov. 1. Dr. Boyce suggested educating people who live along the inner harbor shore and those who walk them regularly to keep an eye out for the seed. Mr. LaFarge suggested a seed - stranding hotline. Dr.Boyce added that the Shellfish Management Plan committee should work this idea into the SMP. Mr. Herr noted that there is a seed management section in the plan but that a seed - stranding response effort would need to be added. Mr. Brace agreed with this approach, but he asked what happens in the interim if there's another seed stranding. Mr. Hen said that shock of such a fierce yet brief storm woke many people up to ease with which strandings occurred, so he believes finding people to help return seed to the harbor in the interim should be easier until a plan can be put into place. Mr. Brace asked if anyone knew of seed north- facing Esther Island beaches. Mr. LaFarge report some scallops on north side of Tuckernuck. Mr. Brace suggested not waiting until the Nov. 15 HSAB meeting to spend more time talking about this situation and asked Mr. Herr about organizing volunteers ASAP. Mr. Herr responded that he intended to start calling fishermen to get a sense of who could be part of this effort and find three or four people to organize a seed - stranding response unit. Petrel Landing: Dr. Boyce announced the Petrel Landing issue is on the selectmen's agenda for Nov. 2. He then asked Mr. Herr if he thought the boat slips included in the proposed Land Bank plan were necessary. Mr. Herr, Mr. LaFarge and Mr. Blount agreed the slips aren't necessary and they'll make it tough for boats to maneuver into position for loading/offloading on the eat side of the landing. And all agreed that there should be a dinghy dock along the south end of the landing. Mr. Brace asked what the Land Bank's thinking was behind the slips and Dr. Boyce said they would probably be included in the town's slip lottery in the spring, adding more slip space. Everyone agreed that other than adding more dinghy space, Petrel Landing should greatly shorten the time fishermen expend unloading their catch in comparison to using the town pier, which is more than 850 feet long. Ms. McCrae stated the board appreciates his hard work on HSAB- related matters and for coming to its meetings. Ms. McCrae asked who from HSAB would be representing HSAB at the selectmen's meeting and Dr. Boyce, Mr. Smith and Mr. Brace said they would attend. Dr. Boyce said he would stress to the selectmen that there is no other place on the harbor for fishermen to get their trucks right to their boats. Marine Department Report: No report at this meeting due to the absence of Ms. Riley and Dave Fronzuto Old Business: Ms. McCrae asked how the fundraiser for Bob Rank went. Dr. Boyce stated that he didn't know how well the fundraiser did but noted that is was quite well attended. Mr. Brace noted that it was packed. New Business: There was no new business Adjournment: 5:20 p.m. Next Meetings: Nov. 15, Dec. 6 and Dec. 20 Respectfully submitted, Peter B. Brace, Secretary