1995-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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We also helped lay out the course and monitored the Report of the "Super Swim Meet" on John's pond. Shellfish Department We had fun participating in the celebration of Mashpee's 125th Anniversary during the first "Cruise Mashpee's Coast"boat Parade.About 12 boats assem- To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and bled in Waquoit Boy on a foggy July third, and one by the Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: one motored, sailed, or were towed to Popponesset Soft-shell clams were the most abundant shellfish Bay.Judges were on hand at South Cape Beach to pick again in 1995. The Board of Selectmen closed Jelin some winners. The whole event was carried out safe- Pond and part of Great River to shellfishing from ly. December 1994 until May 1995 to protect the seed Dredging there as recommended by the Shellfish Commission The Harbormaster Department and Waterways and Department. Much of this seed grew to har- Commission are planning to get some dredging pro- vestable size in 1995. jects started. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for engi- neering services has been prepared by the Waterways Quahogs, the next most abundant shellfish, also Commission and issued by the Executive Secretary. grew rapidly in some areas. Natural sets were supple- mented with seed from our propagation program. In Observation areas such as Great and Little Rivers, some of our seed We observe that every year, more and bigger boats grew to harvestable size (littleneck) in a year, and to use our limited water resources, so to all our boaters, chowder size (3") in three years. This amazingly fast please slow down, and be considerate to others while growth was the result of fast flowing, nutrient rich using our waters. water, and warm temperatures during the growing sea- son. Having had some close calls with Hurricanes last The propagation program was improved to increase year,let me remind you that when a hurricane is immi- nent, get your boat out of the water if at all possible, efficiency. Astate-of-the-art upweller seed nursery and get your self to safety -higher ground and shelter. facility was constructed on Seconesett Island at the Don't wait until the last minute, or you may be stuck. Town lot on Little River. The upweller system will increase the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Thanks seeding effort by allowing the purchase of smaller I would like to thank the Department of Public (less expensive) seed, and growing it to a larger size ' Works (DPW) for their efforts in clearing and con- before transfer to the trays. Larger seed usually has a higher percentage survival rate. The smallest seed that structing the public access area on Monomoscoy Island, and for their contributions of equipment, effort can be placed in the trays with a good chance of sur- and materials to the dune restoration experiment at the vival is about 1/8". Seed less than half that size can be' grown in upwellers. For the same propagation budget, Town Beach on South Cape. next year we will be able to at least double the number' Thanks are also due to Little River Boat Yard and of seed stocked into the trays (from 500,000 to New Seabury Marina for use of boat slip space. Lack- 1,000,000), and double the size stocked (from 1/8"to j ing a suitable town facility, their support is greatly 1/4").The system was constructed using federal funds appreciated. that were granted through the Barnstable County Shellfish Enhancement Program. The tank was donat- The Assistant Harbormasters did a great job of ed by William Jose. Upweller cylinders were con- patrolling and providing a presence on our waterways structed from recycled scrap pipe from the Mashpee during the busy parts of the season,and we thank them Water District. John Guerriere volunteered time for very much. construction. We thank the Waterways Commission for the com- Another propagation improvement was instituted to plete re-write of the Waterways Bylaws (Chapter 170) increase the number of quahog seed surviving to har- to bring them up to date and clarify several vague vestable size. Instead of planting the seed in the wild areas. in the fall as in the past,the 1995 seed is being held in the trays over-winter. In the spring (1996), the seed Please have a safe and enjoyable boating season. will be planted in designated propagation areas and covered with protective net that is placed on the bot-' Respectfully Submitted, tom to keep predators from eating the seed. The nets Perry Ellis, Harbormaster will be changed and cleaned weekly or as needed to ; 92