Tisbury shellfish constable Danielle Ewart had her boat loaded with 225,000 quahaugs. Fully grown, the hard-shelled clams would have weighed upwards of 40 tons.
A former longtime Vineyard Haven family won a substantial judgment in superior court last week in a case that dates to 2013 when the state took and demolished their home in order to build the new Lagoon Pond drawbridge.
Lagoon Pond was closed to scalloping on the Vineyard Haven side, effective Wednesday morning. At a meeting Tuesday, the Tisbury selectmen voted to follow the shellfish constable’s recommendation to close the pond, but decided to keep the outer harbor open until Dec. 31.
A proposed watershed planning district in Oak Bluffs and Tisbury would lay the groundwork for added wastewater regulations around the Lagoon Pond, and for greater public participation as the two towns work to restore the estuary.
Effective June 1, boaters in Vineyard Haven waterways will be restricted to three days on an anchor. The Tisbury selectmen unanimously voted to approve an amendment to the town anchoring regulations after a public hearing Tuesday.
With nitrogen pollution a perpetual concern for Vineyard waterways, two towns are hoping that a shellfish experiment will be the latest puzzle piece to fall into place.
Voters in Chilmark and Tisbury will be asked at their respective town meetings next week to fund pilot programs aimed at reducing nitrogen levels in two locations: Chilmark Pond and Lagoon Pond. Through the funding and a partnership with the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, test reefs of noncommercial oysters will be cultivated, in addition to beds of native ribbed mussels.
