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<br /> <br />SHELLFISH COMMISSION <br />MEETING MINUTES <br />AUGUST 9, 2022 <br />MASHPEE TOWN HALL – 16 Great Neck Road North <br />WAQUOIT MEETING ROOM <br /> <br />PRESENT: Chair, Peter Thomas, Vice-Chair, Richard Cook, Daryl Christensen, William Holmes, <br />Donovan McElligatt, Jamie Pachico, Buddy Pocknett <br /> <br />OTHER ATTENDEES: Interim Town Engineer, Ray Jack, Director of Natural Resources, Director of <br />Natural Resources, Ashley Fisher, Sydney Crook, Matt Haney <br /> <br />CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Chairman Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:00pm in Open <br />Session. <br /> <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: N/A <br /> <br />MINUTES: Approval of the following: June 14, 2022 minutes. <br />Chairman Thomas deferred approval of the June 14, 2022 minutes to the next meeting. <br /> <br />COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE: N/A <br /> <br />OLD BUSINESS <br /> <br />1. Update on Town Sewer Project and the role of shellfish. <br /> Brief overview by Interim Town Engineer, Ray Jack. <br /> <br />Mr. Jack gave a presentation on the current Town Sewer Project. <br />He explained that the DEP Commissioner has been in Mashpee, and all Cape Cod Towns, to <br />address the sewer issues. It has basically been stated that there will offer 2 options. <br />Option A is to obtain a 20 year Watershed permit from the State or, <br />Option B is that everybody in the Town gets a new INA system within 5 years at a cost of <br />$25,000-$30,000/ea. The INA system removes only nitrogen, not phosphorus. <br /> <br />Presently, the Town is obligated to follow the Phase I Plan of 2015 for the Sewer Project and a lot <br />of its basis relies on shellfish. The Town was counting on a very high removal rate from the <br />shellfish propagation which hasn’t really materialized and Mr. Jack isn’t sure that it was a very <br />realistic expectation. Where they will go in the future is up to the Town to decide. <br /> <br />2. 2022/2023 Oyster season: Short and long term solutions for the abundance of oysters. <br /> <br />There was a discussion regarding relocating some of the existing shellfish and perhaps <br />transitioning over to quahogs in the future. <br />Ashley Fisher stated that she recently attended an event at the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance <br />and that they have food banks and are accepting seafood to donate to low income residents. She <br />stated that she will speak with the Director to see what their capabilities are and how much they <br />would be willing to accept on a yearly basis. Mr. Cook questioned the liability of a live product <br />and asked who would volunteer to dig them. <br /> <br />Chairman Thomas asked how many oysters can be moved to deeper water within the next month. <br />According to Mr. McElligatt, 100,000 are ready to go but, that he is struggling with labor. <br />Mr. Pocknett suggested a volunteer day. He stated that he has 5 Tribal Members ready to go. <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />