Aquaculture Lease

Vice-chair John White stated that the Committee needs to notify the DMR that it does not intend to renew its limited purpose aquaculture lease for another year. The lease was used for the placement of a floating upweller to raise seed clams to plant-able size.

Water Quality

DMR Public Health Division Director Amy Fitzpatrick and Laboratory Director Mercuria Combo answered the Committee’s questions regarding the extended closure of the clam flats following the Patriot’s Day storm of last year. They explained that the reason for the closure was the discovery that the basis for the original opening was faulty in that the calculation of the 1,000 to 1 dilution line was incorrect; the corrected line actually occurs seaward beyond the shellfish harvest areas. There followed a long discussion on ways to reduce the closed area.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be 7 pm on April 22nd in the third floor conference room at the Municipal Building.