09/10/2019 WATERWAYS COMMISSION Minutes

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the boat to the Little River Boat Yard. The AHM was able to verify the correct operation of the jetty lights for the Coast Guard - All Private AIDS to Navigation for the Town have been verified by either the Harbormaster or Coast Guard Aux. Two buoys without permits were found and have been corrected. DNR Director/Shellfish Constable Report: - Shellfish surveys for shellfish population assessments, Aquaculture license applications, dock and pier applications and future shellfish seeding area determination were conducted in Hamblin Pond, Upper Great River and Ockway Bay during the month of August. - During August the Shellfish Division devoted 628 hours to shellfish propagation. That included routine upweller maintenance and cleaning, quahog size class sorting and measuring, bottom grow out tray cleaning, predator net construction and deployment, remote set oyster bag splitting, floating oyster bag maintenance, and oyster weight and measurement readings. - Approximately 300,000 quahogs were planted under predator netting at the mouth of Great and Little Rivers. The quahogs at the the Little River complex continue to grow exceptionally well. So far, the number of runts is low compared to other years. - All remote set oyster bags in Mashpee River have been split and spread out in open bottom trays. Oyster season is expected to run from Nov 1 st until March 31, 2020. A level peck limit will be strictly enforced this year. - Shellfish also spent 63 hours supporting the Town's water quality sampling program. Additionally, on August 12th the Division conducted a routine sampling of 5 sentinel stations in Mashpee. The Ponds and Lake Stewardship sampling was conducted on August 20th on Ashumet, John's, Mashpee/Wakeby and Santuit Ponds. Santuit and Ashumet were both noted to have Cyanobacteria algae present. - Shellfish surveys were conducted for Shellfish Aquaculture License Applications, Dock & Pier constructions and future shellfish seeding areas in Hamblin Pond, Upper Great River and Ockway Bay. - During August 171 hours were spent on shellfish patrols which included license checks for: 324 recreational licenses, 169 recreational seed, 23 commercial license and seeds. Also completed were checks for: 37 contaminated areas, 7 Shellfish Aquaculture marker and gear, and 3 vibrio compliance checks. Patrols also assisted in 1 vessel recover and 1 overloaded vessel stop. - Theft on Popponesset Bay continues to occur despite the deployment of 9 high quality cameras. Night patrols have been used on 4 occasions with no activity seen. The theft will continue to be monitored by the Mass Environmental Police, the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Mashpee Shellfish Constable. - The DNR continues to monitor algae blooms to determine if an advisory need to be issued by the Mashpee Health Dept. There is evidence that the bloom has subsided over the course the summer and it is believed to be due to other Zooplankton eating the algae. Committee Reports: Mashpee/Wakeby, John's Pond and fresh waters: Lake levels appear to be slightly up this year. Harbormaster Jeff Smith reported that he provided input to the Lake Committee that he does not think a floating dock should be added to the boat ramp. A general discussion followed on the pros and cons of a floating dock vs no dock to aid in launching and retrieving boats. It was decided to leave things as is. However, we should consider scour pads for the ramp to help address the sand displacement issue. He also reported that no additional progress has been made pulling sand back towards the ramp. It is currently 68-90 feet off the ramp.