Minutes
Minutes
Wellfleet Shellfish Advisory Board
Town Hall Hearing Room
December 15, 2014
Present: Barbara Austin, Barbara Brennessel, Joel Fox, Jacob Puffer (Alternate), Becca Taylor, Helen Miranda Wilson
Regrets: John Duane,
Others in Attendance: Andy Koch (Constable), Chopper Young, John Mankevetch (Assistant Constable), Fred Richard, Tom Reinhart, Bob Wallace, Mike Ziemba, David Ziemba, Ed Tessa and others.
1. Convened at 6:10pm
2. Barbara B. announced that she would ask Andy Koch to identify vehicle access points for shellfishermen and growers. This information will be used by SERI (Social and Environmental Research Institute) to help identify impacts of sea level rise on vehicle access.
3. Minutes from November 17 were approved (5-0).
4. The Harbormaster stands firm at the 18 inch height limit for aquaculture gear, other than spat collectors, and did not accept the invitation of the SAB to attend our meeting. There was an extended discussion on this issue. Joel Fox moved that the SAB change the height regulation (7.18.2) to 24 inches and make a presentation to the BOS explaining how the industry is using gear that is higher than 18 inches. The motion was seconded by Helen MW. The motion was approved 5-1.
Helen MW will draft a cover letter to the BOS. There was some discussion about requiring the use of hazard buoys but no consensus was reached.
Andy Koch proposed that all metal be taken out of the Harbor after January 1 (except spikes holding down clam nets
5. Joel Fox agreed to bring new wording to Marina regulation 5: Safety. “or damage aquaculture equipment.”
6. Blood Arks: At the Nov. 17, we voted to recommend a regulation to cap the catch limits of blood arks to 5 bushels/day. The regulation was brought up at this meeting because not all the fishermen attended the last meeting. Barbara Austin moved that we set the limit to 10 bushels/license/day; 20 bushels/boat. Helen MW seconded the motion. The Precautionary Principle was cites as a reason to have a conservative limit. The motion was approved (4-2).
7. Section 7.16: Petite Oysters and Gems, was discussed again. The SAB came to consensus to leave matters as they stand.
8. Relocation of Town Shellfish bed: The current bed will be phased out. HDYLDA will let the Town use some of their property and there may be some field planting on Indian Neck.
9. Local Regulation pertaining to dragging equipment specific to different species:
Helen MW read the current Town regulations. Helen MW will try to find the old regulations, in case they were designed to protect the oyster fishery.
10. Batch tagging for pitting: Barbara Austin called Dick Krauss who is serving on the State’s shellfish advisory committee. Apparently, batch tagging in general is a major issue that may apply to many towns. Bob Wallace is also on this committee. Bob W suggested that batch tagging should also apply during Vibrio season for anything that doesn’t go to market. There was an extensive discussion about batch/lot tagging. This is an issue that must be addressed by DMF.
11. Next meeting: Jan 14, 2015
12. Meeting adjourned: 8:35pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Barbara Brennessel