12/10/2019 WATERWAYS COMMISSION Minutes

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DNR Director/Shellfish Constable Report: - Enforcement: Ashley Fisher, the shellfish warden, reported that in November a total of 240 hours were spent on shellfish patrols which includes 112 contaminated area checks, 334 recreational shellfish license checks, 204 recreational seed checks, 4 commercial license and seed checks, and 9 Shellfish Aquaculture marker and gear checks. There were no violations found. - Management: The Shellfish Commission and Shellfish Constable continue to work on the reclassification of the area to the left of the float at Mashpee Neck Landing that the Commission voted on November the 15th to reclassify to a family area. This area has had no previous classification by the town other than open to shell-fishing from November the 1 st- March 31st. The DNR is also working an issue relative to Public Access: Parcel 134 located within New Seabury is an area adjacent to a classified family area, which currently has no land access due to abutters blocking an ancient pathway to water. The Shellfish Commission is looking into purchasing this parcel to remain as open space and public access to fishing. The parcel is also a site of historical significance; the Hennery Amos Oyster Shack that operated for a number of years in the 1860's propagating oysters. The tribe has also used this ancient way for shell-fishing and fin-fishing for hundreds of years. - Propagation: Oyster tray maintenance is ongoing in the Mashpee River as we continue to harvest (340 pecks during the month) from the area throughout the conditionally open season. Different year classes are being separated and damaged trays are being removed and repaired for the upcoming 2020 remote set seed order. This year the plan is to order 1,000 remote set bags and 500,000 R6 single oysters to be deposited in the growing areas of Mashpee River. Quahog nets remain in place and no damages have been seen. The Shellfish Division will have 11.0 million quahogs on order for the 2020 growing season. This requires gear maintenance and the installation of 3 new FLUPSYs in Ockway. Power and water servicing is currently underway at that location. Lastly reported, Scallops will be funded by donation only. Their price as it stands is roughly$30/1,000 animals. - Water Quality: The Cyanobacteria bloom in Santuit Pond persists with a cells count above the 70,000 cells/ml precautionary threshold. The town and tribe are working with the Army Corps of Engineers to study the feasibility of dredging some 400,000 cubic yards from the bottom of the pond. This would eliminate the muck(containing 78% of all phosphorus) from re-suspending and thus reduce the occurrence of harmful algae bloom. Even though the cell counts in Santuit Pond were high throughout the summer, the cell toxicity was found to be relatively low through testing. As noted in the Harbormaster's report, on 11/2 a vessel sunk in Waquoit Bay. After a fuel film was evident from the sunken vessel, a precautionary was posted on November 19th in Waquoit Bay. Shellfish Classification area SC15 (excluding Eel River, Little River, and Great River) remained closed until the sunken vessel was removed from the water. Committee Reports: MashpeelWakeby and John's Pond and fresh waters: Rick York reported that the water quality at Santuit Pond was discussed at the recent BOS meeting, specifically the persistence of algae blooms. The issue seems to be high phosphorous levels due to fertilizer use and road runoff that overwhelms the current treatment program. Rick reported that he is investigating. options to address including harvesting the algae for sale. There are a few commercial applications including conversion to fuels and use in foam manufacturing. Rick also reported that the Corps of Army Engineers is constructing a 2 year study to assess the impact that dredging the bottom sediment might have on the blooms. The Army Corps would pay 60% and the remainder shared at a determined split between the Town and the Tribe. Finally, Rick reported that the algae bloom has subsided and the Advisory should be removed soon. Lastly, it was reported that Santuit Pond likely will not host fishing tournaments next season.