Kittery Shellfish Committee Meeting
April 7, 2008
Reseeding
Chairman Dan Clapp discussed plans for a reseeding in Brave Boat Harbor this month. Seed clams (50,000) were acquired from the Downeast Institute this summer and held in Cape Porpoise Harbor before being moved to Spruce Creek a couple of weeks ago. The clams have grown from approximately ¼” to ½”. Plans are to broadcast most of the seed from a boat at high water. Some seed will be deployed in a limited number of bait barrel collars with netted tops as predator exclusion devises.
Water Quality
Sue Cobbler, contract administrator for Kittery, discussed a 319 Grant the town received for watershed improvements in the Spruce Creek watershed. The improvement project will address non-point source inputs including storm water runoff, stream crossing erosion and residential land use. The project will also address homeowner education regarding inground septic system maintenance and repair.
Phyllis Ford, member of the Spruce Creek Association, announced that their organization is seeking funds from the New Hampshire Estuary Project to conduct a project to locate failing septic systems and illegal discharges to Kittery’s estuarine waters utilizing a field fluorometer.
Enforcement
Warden John McCollum questioned whether Isles of Shoals is considered in Maine or New Hampshire for the purposes of water quality classification. The area is classified as prohibited due to water quality problems associated with boats. As it turns out, three of the ten islands are in New Hampshire and the rest are in Maine.