2006 Report of the

Harbormaster/

Natural Resources Department

Several economic and environmental factors impacted boating this summer in Harwich Port and surrounding waters. As the demand for foreign oil grew, the post Hurricane Katrina price on fuel at the fuel dock climbed to an all time high: $3.41/gallon on diesel, ethanol gasoline was selling at $4.07/gallon. For nearly all power boat owners, this translated to limited recreational use to just a few outings a season due to the high cost of filling the tank. At the fuel dock sales plummeted.

Economics had shown that the cost of replacing the aging underground fuel tanks did not remotely match the pay back to the Town of the Saquatucket Harbor fuel dock lease. Therefore, in October the Board of Selectmen voted not to renew the lease with Harwich Port Boat Yard and close down the operation for good. Fuel for recreational boats is available at fuel docks at Wychmere and Allen harbors while commercial boats can buy fuel over the bulkhead from authorized tanker trucks.

HARBOR INCOME    FY06
Saquatucket	452,148
Visitor Dockage	141,599
Mooring	63,275
Offload Permit	33,816
Ramp	26,034
Electric Use	25,519
Wychmere Town Pier	25,365
Allen Town Dock	22,031
List Waitiing Fee	16,145
Fuel Commission	15,838
Ice Receipts	2,250
Shellfish Permit	2,093
MSA Fee	600
Restaurant Tie-up	420
Copying & Fax	31
Refund	(916)
Allen Harbor Storage	11,314

INCOME   TOTAL                          $837,562

HARBOR EXPENSES

Expenses   (actual)                                   72,677

Salaries & Wages (incl. Shellfish Lab)     217,810

 _________

Total Expenses                                  $290,477

NET                                     $547,085

Recreational boating is certainly not going away as is proven by the long waiting lists. However, there is little doubt that energy costs everywhere will remain high and this will impact boating and its demand. Our slip deposit program makes down payments due in December and showed a record number of 18 cancellations from boaters, mostly a consequence of this issue. One alternative, sailing, is monetarily sensible and offers itself as both relaxation and sport and may fill a power boating void.

We offer many thanks to Town Administrator, Wayne Melville, for his 17 years of support of the Harbormasters Office and Natural Resources Department. He is serving the same position at another coastal town, Manchester By-The-Sea. A new acting town administrator, Rene Read, was decisive in making several changes. These included moving the purchasing of all shellfish permits out of the Selectmen’s Office and placing them squarely in the hands of the Harbormasters Office, which is basically open for business during the same hours and weekends. We also took this opportunity to change the format of the new permit and have made the purchase of all permits available on-line for customer convenience. To his credit, he kept a close hand in the development of the Harbor Management Plan bringing it through its 11^th revision. Our HMP, endorsed by the MA Inspector Generals Office, is a gold plated standard for other towns. His last act supported a concept of his predecessor, the transfer the Waterways Improvement Fund money back into the General Fund to reduce the tax rate. This has predictably set us up for making it harder to perform waterway infrastructure repairs, a point which the Waterways Commission now shares.  Unfortunately for Harwich, Mr. Read also moved on to become assistant TA in Mashpee.

Piling Issues

Piling issues remained at the top of the growing list of harbor needs, along with dredging. Four steel pilings were replaced this spring at an extreme cost of $19,000. Regrettably, a half dozen of 40 steel pilings which were installed 18 years ago and scheduled for replacement in the Capital Outlay Plan in 2012 have since collapsed and were not replaced. On the surface this may not sound catastrophic; however, the 60 such pilings each weigh more than 3½ tons. When these collapse they destroy or damage anything that is nearby. Funding their replacement with an empty Waterways Improvement Fund coffer remains a challenge which will run itself into the New Year. At this writing, there has been one failed grant application for this purpose, and another has been submitted for this purpose to the Seaport Advisory Council. If all else fails, this cost will have to be appropriated by a special Town Meeting article or emergency action. Otherwise, we will not only lose a gross amount of slip revenue but there will not be enough safe berths to go around for the numbers of boats that have contracted with the Town.

Long awaited improvements were made to the Saquatucket Harbor east side parking lot. A funding commitment from the State Access Board was partially utilized in the parking lot re-surfacing project. An asphalt grinding machine reduced the parking lot to sand. Lawrence Lynch Corp. was awarded the contract to place drainage basins and lay a new asphalt surface on the lot. The boat ramp portion of the project will be held off until fall of 2007 at earliest. Funding for the project was approved in the commonwealth’s supplemental budget in 2005.

Dredging Issues

The US Army Corps federal money to dredge small harbors such as Saquatucket in Harwich is virtually nonexistent. There is little chance of relief in the future, given an $8 trillion national debt, the massive amounts being spent on Iraq and the drain of relief money flowing down south to rebuild after Katrina. On top of this, the Bush administration has tasked the Corps with large projects in Iraq, such as the $20 million Mosul Dam repair project, while cutting the Corps budget by $600 million. Thus the Corps is short on resources it needs to do critical infrastructure projects such as dredging. This has left the Town of Harwich with the burden of funding its busiest channels.

Harbors left undredged can become so shallow that commercial and recreational boats can't use the waters. This can have an adverse economic impact. The combined ports of Chatham and Harwich, for example, were the sixth highest port in the Northeast for groundfish landings in 2004. They had a total of 116 boats permitted to catch these fish, which include cod, haddock and flounder. Cape and Islands fishermen, working out of these same small harbors, landed fish worth nearly $12.7 million paid to fishermen in 2004. That doesn't include the many more recreational boats that use these harbors or the transitory tuna and scallop fleets that add around 100 more commercial vessels to this area each summer and fall.

The following is a list of vessels with year-round or winter offloading privileges at Harwich Port (does include vessels at private marinas or vessels with tuna permits).

                         COMMERCIAL VESSELS (regular pier offloading permits)

1	Ernest	Borraccino, Sr.	Chatham	A - 1	RESTLESS
2	Greg	Tomasian	So. Harwich	A - 2	SEABAG III
3	William T.	Barker	Harwich	A - 3	TUNA ECLIPSE
4	Eric	Hesse	Barnstable	A - 4	TENACIOUS
5	Earl	LeGeyt	Hyannis	A - 5	SEAHOOK
6	Harry	Hunt	Orleans	A - 6	DANIELLE B
7	William C.	Chaprales	Marstons Mills	A - 7	REUBY
8	Tony	Coccoro	Chatham	A - 8	RISKY BUSINESS
9	Michael	Matulitis	Brewster	A - 9	MY TWO GIRLS
10	Tom	McMullen	Chatham	A - 10	Dusky 25
11	Jan	Margeson	Brewster	A - 11	GROWING OLD
12	Mark V.	Leach	Harwich	A - 12	SEA HOLLY
13	Ronald	Menard	So. Dennis	A - 13	CHAMY
14	Ronald	Braun	Marshfield	A - 14	PEGGY B II
15	Christopher	Ripa	East Harwich	A - 15	OCEAN LADY
16	Richard	Rudders	Barnstable	A - 16	KINGFISHER
17	Ian	Barker	Harwich	A - 17	MARJORIE K
18	Mark	Smith	Harwich	A - 18	GODZILLA
19	Rodney	Tavano	W. Barnstable	A - 19	MISS DOROTHY
20	Peter	Spalt	Harwich Port	A - 20	TBA
21	Roger	Tessier	East Harwich	A - 21	SEA FROG
22	Thomas	Traina	East Harwich	A - 22	SUE-Z
23	Glen	LeGeyt	Yarmouth	A - 23	MISS MORGAN
24	Ronald	Menard	So. Dennis	A - 24	JESSIE
25	Thomas	Szado	Harwich Port	A - 25	ARLIE X.
26	David	Dion	Friendswood TX	A - 26	LADY DIANA
27	Willard	Nickerson	Chatham	A - 27	THREE GRACES
28	Frank L.	Greiner, Jr.	Harwich	E - 1	MAGELLAN
29	Jay	Queenan	East Falmouth	E - 2	MICHELE
30	John	Demango	Harwich	E - 3	MISS JENNIFER
31	Christopher	Green	Harwich Port	E - 5	MILKWEED
32	Eric	Hesse	Barnstable	E - 6	MATTANZA
33	William	Barker	Harwich	E - 7	ZACHERY T
34	Robert	Luce	East Harwich	E - 8	SEAWINN
35	Mike	Terrenzi	Harwich	E - 9	KELLY J
36	Jeff	Greene	Harwich	E - 10	SEA FEVER
37	Greg	Tomasian	So. Harwich	E - 11	AMY A
38	Greg	Walinski	Harwich Port	E - 12	ALICIA-ANN
39	Tony	Furrow	Stoneington, ME	B - 1	GALE WARNINGS
40	Dusty	Ketchopulos	Rockport, MA	B - 2	SPECIAL K
41	Dan	Mahoney	Gloucester, MA	B - 3	MOONRAKER
42	Paul	Theriault	Rockport, MA	B - 4	TERMINATOR
43	Kurt	Denholm	Kittery Point, ME	B - 5	KIMBERLY ANN
44	Jan	Margeson	Brewster	B - 6	DECISIVE
45	Peter	Marshall	Essex, MA	B - 7	VENTURE
46	Paul	Unangst	Marshfiel, MA	B - 8	DESTINY
47	Wade	Behlman	Hyannis	B - 9	JENNIFER DAN
48	Michael	Pratt	Canton, MA	B - 10	SEA-VENTURE
49	Dearran	Brown	Lubec, ME	B - 11	MISTY BAY
50	Milton	Chute	Lubec, ME	B - 12	CAPTAINS LADY
51	Dan	Murphy	Dracet, MA	B - 13	BANTRY BAY
52	Louis	Williams	Swampscott, MA	B - 14	PRETTY GIRL
53	James	Wotton	Friendship, ME	B - 15	KELSEA & EMILY
54	Mark	Smith	Harwich	B - 16	JOANNE H
55	Dale	Page	Boothbay Harbor, ME	B - 17	NIGHT OWL
56	Matt	Bunnell	W. Barnstable	B - 18	TRICIA LYNN
57	David	Anthony	Lubec, ME	B - 19	KRISTEN LEE
58	Matt	Murray	Lubec, ME	B - 20	JUSTIN & JENN
59	Chris	Our	Harwich	B - 21	MISS MARY
60	Fred	Clancy	Harwich Port	C - 1	FIRE FLY
61	Frank	Greiner	Harwich	C - 2	SHACKLETON
62	Robert	Luce	Harwich	C - 3	STRIPER
63	Fred	Spencer	Weston, MA	C - 4	PAULY V.
64	Jeffrey	Foresman	Boston, MA	C - 5	TRAPANI
65	Mort	Terry	Harwich Port	C - 6	FISH TALE
66	Bob	Rice	Brewster	C - 7	SABATICAL
67	Tony	Biski	East Harwich	C - 8	TAKE IT EASY
68	Tom	Birch	Harwich	C - 9	SHANTI
69	Arthur	Brosnan	So. Orleans	C - 10	CAPT'N & TONAIRE
70	Michele	Andolina	Harwich	R - 1	SPECIAL LADY
71	Frank	Greiner	Harwich	R - 2	PEGGY LANE
72	Robert P.	Briggs	Dennisport	R - 3	SEADUCED
73	Glen	Fernandes	Harwich	R - 5	GRACIE J
74	Paul	Donovan	So. Harwich	D - 1	GOLDEN EAGLE
75	Clement	Kacergis	Harwich Port	D - 2	YANKEE
76	Alan	McMullen	Harwich Port	D - 3	FREEDOM
77	Alan	McMullen	Harwich Port	D - 4	PRESEVERANCE

With our permits in order we were very fortunate to get the Barnstable County Dredge to Round Cove channel at years end and rebuild the eroding barrier beach. The cap on the project was 5,400 cubic yards of sand at a total project cost of $34,830. The Selectmen accepted a gift of $14,000 from Wequassett Inn for additional beach material.

In a June project, the county dredge removed close to 10,000 cubic yards of sand from the “bottleneck” in the Wychmere entrance channel in about ten days. The total cost of the project was $64,500. That sand was placed in front of private homes along Saquatucket Bluffs based on a permit granted in 1993. The project was funded by both the Town and homeowner Stephen Seymour through a gift of $40,500.

A similar bar has grown along the Allen Harbor West Breakwater impacting the channel. Unfortunately, environmental windows and funds to do the project this year are not available.

Beach Restoration and inner Harbor issues 

Dredging is another cost necessity that benefits the rebuilding of beaches, however, reducing available funding leaves little money left after permitting expenses to do the actual work. More funds are needed if we are to be successful in keeping all of our channels open and provide an adequate quantity of sand for the beaches.

The Board of Selectmen has suggested the idea of putting in place a beach management program that would help resolve erosion problems facing both public and private stretches of shoreline. The town hired Coastal Engineering of Orleans to assist in instituting a comprehensive dredge and beach management permit that would allow dredging in all channels and placement of materials along all beaches. Selectmen hope this permit will help to better manage coastal beaches with a financial boost from private owners. The Board has discussed putting a committee together to examine solutions and to work with this firm in funding answers.

Work began exploring alternatives for how inner harbor dredging might be accomplished. Because of the nature of the soft harbor bottom muds, CAD (cell confined area disposal), inversion dredging, and borrow area concepts are being considered as a possible solution for the mooring area inside Allen Harbor. A meeting in June highlighted the skepticism that the Army Corps of Engineers has for CAD concepts, however, the Coastal Zone Management Program officials encourage CAD as a practical solution where dredging and disposal costs skyrocket. In short, a deep trench would be dug inside the breakwaters placing the quality sands from below on the beach outside the harbor. Then the muck from inside would be pumped or scraped and placed in the trench which would then be capped with sand. The DEP is requiring an Environmental Impact Report be submitted which will be costly and time consuming. Coastal Engineering is handling all of these dredging permits as well.

Shellfish Laboratory and monitoring

The Shellfish Laboratory located at Wychmere Harbor has been propagating shellfish for 14 years.  During that time over 24 million seed has been grown in the lab.  This year nearly 1.7 million quahog seed were raised from (1-5 mm) to an average of (11.25 mm) in size.  Our largest seed grew as large as 25 mm.  The survival rate within the lab was 98%.  This was due in part to the portion of larger seed (3-5 mm) that we started with that grew well.  While a portion of our quahog seed was purchased by the Town, the majority of the seed was the result of a DMF/County Seed Grant Program.  Shellfish seed was obtained from (ARC) Aquacultural Research Corporation in Dennis.  The Harwich Shellfish Lab was also the site of our 9th high school summer aquaculture internship program.  The six week program, managed by Heinz Proft, enabled students, MacKenzie Hamilton, Robert Peacock, and Abby McGillen, along with teaching supervisor Ms. Lara Slifka to work closely with the Natural Resources Department to monitor and maintain the Shellfish nursery during its’ busiest time. 

The lab, open to the general public, received over 250 visitors this year. This brought the total to nearly 4,000 visitors over the past 9 years.  Funding for the internship program was received from the Barnstable County Enhancement Grant Program and the Town of Harwich.  We were very thankful for their continued support.  The shellfish from the lab were seeded in Herring River, Allen Harbor, Wychmere Harbor, Saquatucket Harbor, Pleasant Bay/Muddy Creek, and Round Cove.  This year was the second year we did not seed Oyster Creek in Allen Harbor.  The potential for this arm of the harbor to be dredged in the near future exists. There is no reason to risk freshly seeded juvenile quahogs that may be sacrificed if this creek were to be dredged.

Our quahog seed continues to be tested prior to seeding (per order of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries) for Dermo, QPX, and an array of other harmful parasites.  This has been the sixth consecutive year for such testing and once again our shellfish received a clean bill of health from the Shellfish Pathology lab in Woods Hole, Ma.    

The Harwich Natural Resources Department continues to receive assistance with many of our projects from volunteers.  A great deal of thanks is extended to Bob Cooney and John Reynders who spent yet another summer/fall tending to the needs of the shellfish lab. 

The red tide that we experienced in 2005 (the largest outbreak of red tide ever recorded in southeastern Massachusetts) did not return this year. The DMF has an extensive Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) monitoring program in place that tests the water for algal cells and shellfish for possible contamination.  It is important to note that PSP does not affect swimmers and beach goers. 

Shellfish Patrol and harvest

To patrol the local shellfishing flats we again relied on the assistance provided by our dedicated group of volunteer shellfish wardens.  Ron Saulnier, Dean Knight, and Jim Coyle were very generous with their time and energy.  The assistance provided by our volunteer corps certainly makes the Natural Resources Department a more efficient, more productive group.  We thank all our volunteers for their effort.

2006 Shellfish Permits Sold

Resident Family                        282      $2820

Non-Resident Family                  65      $1950

Commercial                                  4        $160

Seniors                                      34        $102

One-Day Non-Resident            23         $345

TOTAL                                    408      $5,377

This was the first year we asked recreational shellfish permit holders to fill out a shellfishing survey when obtaining their license at the Harbormaster’s Office. However, because most permits were sold at the Selectmen’s Office where surveys were not encouraged, only 20% of the people (82) completed the survey.  Through extrapolation we were able to determine the following:

2005 Recreational Survey

Avg. days someone went shellfishing in 2005……3.62 days

Avg. # buckets of quahogs taken in 2005/permit…1.75 (10qts)  or 177 bushels/yr

Avg. #buckets of oysters taken in 2005/permit……0.28 (10qts)  or   30 bushels/yr

Avg. #buckets of softshells taken in 2005/permit…0.54 (10qts)  or  55 bushels/yr

The 2005 landing was a total harvest of just 262 bushels. This meager harvest is a far cry from our 1975 town report which reported 845 resident family permits and an estimated landing of 3,125 bushels. 2005 was when we experienced the largest recorded red tide event that severely reduced the total shellfish harvest as illustrated by this survey. 

An incomplete survey is expected again for 2006 because permits were still being sold at Town Hall until July. Now shellfish permits are only sold at the Harbormasters Office or may be purchased with a credit card on-line through our website. When someone buys a permit we now get the previous year’s survey results.  Therefore, 2006 data will only be available after everyone has purchased their 2007 license and will be included in next year’s town report. No survey was taken of commercial harvest.

In a downsizing move, the Shellfish and Marine Water Quality Co