Selectmen this week tried to broker a compromise solution in a heated dispute among town shellfishermen over the closing of Sengekontacket Pond to bay scalloping on the Oak Bluffs side.
Sengekontacket Pond has been closed to shellfishing because of rainfall received earlier this week.
The town of Oak Bluffs has advised that the pond will be closed until at least Monday, August 17.
The state mandates pond closures after heavy rainfall because of run-off from waterfowl and other sources. Red flags fly at both bridges on the pond when it is closed to shellfishing.
For the second time this month, Sengekontacket Pond has been closed to shellfishing because of rainfall. The town of Oak Bluffs said the pond was closed Wednesday and would reopen on Monday, July 20 at the earliest. If there is more rainfall, the closure could be extended.
A long-awaited project to dredge a channel that feeds Sengekontacket Pond is set to go this spring, now that Oak Bluffs has awarded a bid for project. Sediment has been piling up at the channel since Hurricane Sandy.
The town of Oak Bluffs learned Friday that the federal government has approved funding to dredge under the Little Bridge at Sengekontacket Pond. The news capped a week during which selectmen began discussing alternatives if funding did not come through.
Discouraged by a stalled quest for federal funding, the town of Oak Bluffs is now looking for other ways to dredge the sand-filled channel beneath the Little Bridge at Sengekontacket Pond. The inlet has now closed and the window to dredge it is also closing, with April the deadline for work to be done.
