01/08/2019 SHELLFISH COMMISSION Minutes

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2019 Maslipee Shellfish Aquaculture Plan: In 2019 the Shellfish Division will be ordering quahogs. The Barnstable County Cooperative Extension gave an option this year to the towns to use their county funds for a shellfish sorting system. Mashpee decided to join the towns of Falmouth, Chatham, and Yarmouth in purchasing a SWECO sorting system with 6 tiers of mesh sizes. The system can efficiently sort 250,000 quahogs in 1 hour. This would allow the shellfish division to effectively sort our purchased seed to ensure adequate growth and survival. We are also ordering the usual 2,000 remote set oyster bags to be deposited into the Mashpee River in late June early July. All gear including FLUPSY silos, land based upweller silos, and bottom trays will be updated and repaired over the winter. Two fulltime temporary waterways assistants, Mike Patz and Dominick Vitale, will be working on all the updates and gear construction. They will also be attending the Shellfish Constable course this February at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. They will then be deputized for 2019. Thomas: "Ashley should be sent to the intermittent reserve academy for enforcement in the future. Academy training would be beneficial to her when patrolling in the summer, especially after the recent violations in town." York: "That is what the Shellfish Constable course at Massachusetts Maritime Academy is for." Thomas: "Has Ashley taken that?" York: "Yes" Thomas: "How is that different?" York: "The course is designed specifically for shellfish constables. It is a certification from the state." Thomas: "She should also be a special police officer and a natural resource officer. Is there any interest in doing that?At least the head of the shellfish division should be a special police officer in my mind." Holmes: "What happens in other towns?" York: "Other town's shellfish constables don't have special police officer training. Do you want to be armed? That is a huge liability." Thomas: "I don't agree with that. Natural Resource Officers should be able to carry." Fisher: "I am interested in gaining some enforcement training, especially with all of the violations that have occurred in the past couple of weeks." York: "The Mashpee Police Department and the Environmental Police can be called in those situations." Thomas: "There is definitely a need for more enforcement in Mashpee, I feel we have been lacking in the past due to staffing issues. If Ashley has the interest she should attend the training sessions."