1995-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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control fouling. These will be maintained until the coliforms in water samples at this time, the coliforms seed grows to littleneck size. in Sage Lot Pond must be from waterfowl because there are no other sources in that area. A Water Quali- Chowder quahogs from clean Cape Cod waters ty Task Force was formed to investigate the Mashpee were stocked into the non-commercial (family) shell- River contamination. fishing areas in Great River and Daniel's Island on April 27 to spawn in May when the water tempera- A new educational program, the JTEC (Job Train- tures increase. The 3,000 pounds of quahogs were ing and Employment Corporation) Aquaculture Pro- capable of producing several billion larvae,but the lar- gram, started with a Mashpee Shellfish Department vae typically have very low survival rates due to pre- proposal for summer youth employment. The dation. teenagers worked on our propagation program. Fund- ing included$1500 for supplies. Our summer program Scallop season was even worse than last year. The was so successful that the federal funding agency total catch on opening day was only a half bushel. decided to expand it to year-round and include other Scallop season was shortened to end on December 31, towns as well. In the year-round program, high school 1995 by the Board of Selectmen based on recommen- drop-outs ages 16 to 21 work on town shellfish propa- dations from the Shellfish Commission and Depart- gation for training in shellfish aquaculture and study ment for protection of the few remaining scallops. The for their high school diplomas in the classroom. More total catch for the season was only a couple of bushels. federal funding has been allocated for another new JTEC program next year to train unemployed fisher- Most of the 19,000 scallop seed released in Great men in aquaculture. River, Little River and Hamblin Pond in the fall of 1994 did not survive. Although the seed was large Propagation Program: (1.5"+), predation was still a major problem. Crabs 575,000 seed quahog stocked in nursery trays p probably ate most of them. In 1995, the new scallop 30,000 seed scallop stocked in cages ! propagation program was modified to hold the scallop 3,000 pounds chowder quahogs planted seed in protective plastic-coated wire mesh cages (10'x5'x6"). The scallops are being held so that they Shellfish Permits Issued: 643 will spawn and seed the surrounding areas.Most of the $2,500 grant from the Barnstable County Shellfish Resident/Taxpayer 347 Enhancement Program was used to purchase 30,000 Senior Citizen 250 large scallop seed (1.5"+). In Popponesset Creek, Non-Resident/MA Taxpayer 26 10,000 scallops are being held in cages floating just Commercial 20 under the surface. In Hamblin Pond, 20,000 scallops are being held in cages on the bottom. Oystering is still Thank you,the Boards, Commissions, Departments prohibited due to the scarcity of oysters. About 200 and People of the Town of Mashpee for assistance and oysters are being held in Little River and Popponesset support throughout the year. Thanks to Little River Creek in hopes of getting some spat from them when Boat Yard and New Seabury Marina for donating they spawn. Although they appear to be healthy, the space for the shellfish boats. Special thanks to the outlook is not good because of the prevalence of oys- Shellfish Deputies and volunteers. We appreciate the ter diseases. years of dedicated service of Shellfish Commissioner and Officer Fred Peters, who passed away in 1995. A new non-commercial (family) shellfishing area was designated in Hamblin Pond on the Momomoscoy Respectfully submitted, Island side off Hamblin Road. The area, about an acre Richard H. York, Jr. in size, is easily accessible through the Town lot on Shellfish Constable Hamblin Road. Protected shallow waters, and mostly sandy bottom make the area ideal, especially for fam- ilies with small children. Water quality was good in all areas except the Mashpee River, Sage Lot Pond, and Shoestring Bay which remain closed to shellfishing due to high num- bers of fecal coliform bacteria. All of the Mashpee River was closed year-round in 1995. In the past, the lower river from Orsini Beach down was opened in the winter. Possible sources of the coliforms are water- fowl, animals, and septic system failure. Although there are no practical methods of differentiating fecal 93