Kiteboarders were off the water and in the Edgartown town hall on Monday, agreeing to new clear zones in three of the town’s ponds to protect shellfishing from the increasing number of kiters in Edgartown waters. They also voiced concerns about the rapid growth of the once niche aquatic action sport.

Shellfish constable Paul Bagnall told selectmen that the kiteboarders had agreed to clear zones around the big bridge in Sengekontacket Pond, the boat ramp in Katama Bay and Cape Pogue near the gut. Scott Morgan, chairman of the marine advisory committee in Edgartown, said the growth in the sport’s popularity had taken the town’s regulatory groups by surprise.

“This kiteboarding thing kind of snuck up on us,” Mr. Morgan said. “Edgartown has the three prime kiteboarding spots on the Island. We’re trying to get ahead of it.”

He said the clear zones came out of meetings with an ad-hoc group of recreational kiteboarders who were responsive to both concerns from shellfishermen and the proposed changes. Along with the clear zones, kiteboarders have agreed to stay 100 feet from shellfishermen and put up warning signs on the water.

“Everyone walked away pretty happy,” Mr. Morgan said.

The extreme sport, which melds aspects of sailing, surfing, wakeboarding and paragliding into one combined activity, has made waves among adventure athletes this summer, prompting tension between newly-formed commercial kiteboarding schools and the recreational kiters who once had the water to themselves.

That tension played out at the selectmen’s meeting on Monday, as the town has received one commercial kiteboarding license and is waiting on the application for a second.

“At the same time that these restrictions are being placed on the recreational kiting community, the marine advisory board is adding to the situation by issuing commercial licenses to kite schools, bringing hundreds of new kiters to our areas,” said Michael Zadeh, who represented the newly-formed Vineyard Sailing Assocation of recreational kiteboarders. “Learning to kite involves dragging through the water, crashing and relaunching the kite . . . this is an issue.”

Mr. Morgan felt differently, saying that as July approached the schools needed a chance to get on the water if they were to make money this summer.

“Recreational kiteboarders were not in favor of the schools,” Mr. Morgan said. “Personally, I just think it’s better to have the schooling available. They’re Commonwealth waters...it’s crowded. You just gotta share.”

According to Kristy Rose, administrative assistant for the selectmen, the marine advisory committee could make a recommendation on the permit for Skyhigh Kiteboarding within the next week. They would then bring the application before selectmen for final approval. She also said there is a second commercial school that may request a permit, but did not know its name.

“We are listening to the recreational guys and the ideas that they have. You want to make everybody happy, but you have limited amount of space,” Mr. Morgan said. “As far as we are concerned, we are going to try to come up with good regulations that can keep everybody in the water.”