Sengekontacket Pond

Little Bridge Dredging Project Closer to Reality

Oak Bluffs is one step closer to receiving disaster aid to dredge a channel to Sengekontacket Pond, following informal approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Sengekontacket Stays Closed to Shellfishing

A state-imposed shellfishing ban in Sengekontacket Pond has been extended yet again following rainfall on Sunday. The pond is safe for swimming and boating.

Sengekontacket Closed for Shellfishing

Sengekontacket Pond remains closed for shellfishing because of rainfall.

Sengekontacket Closed Again to Shellfishing

Sengekontacket Pond has been closed to shellfishing for the second time in two weeks due to heavy rainfall. The Edgartown selectmen learned of the closure at their meeting Monday.

The pond, which spans the towns of Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, will remain closed at least until Sunday. It is safe for swimming and boating.

Sengekontacket Closed to Shellfishing

Sengekontacket is closed to shellfishing, the shellfish constable announced early Friday, after 0.28 inches of rain was recorded on the rain gauge at the Hughes Hatchery. The amount surpasses the 0.2 inches of rain threshold established in the 2012 Sanitary Survey for the pond. Shellfishing there will be prohibited for at least five days, and may be reopened on Wednesday as long as another heavy rain event does not occur in the meantime. Rain is measured daily at the pond. The Sanitary Survey’s threshold is in effect during the months of July, August and September.

Sengekontacket Pond Plays Host To a Million Tiny Pioneers

Over the next year, a million tiny pioneers will arrive at Sengekontacket Pond. Simply by growing from the size of a pencil eraser to a full three inches, a million oysters are the key part of a project launched by Oak Bluffs and Edgartown to cultivate the shellfish in Sengekontacket, which has been found to have nitrogen levels well above acceptable limits.

For Retired Fly Fisherman, Work Has Just Begun

It is the end of the day and the sun hangs low and red over Sengekontacket Pond. The waters of Nantucket Sound are relatively flat due to a southerly shift in the wind earlier in the afternoon, but a few small waves break on the shoreline. Schools of bluefish surface about a quarter mile offshore. Terns follow the schools as they erratically move along.

Edgartown Warned of Threat to Sengekontacket Health

In a repeat of a presentation given to the Oak Bluffs selectmen last month, the Edgartown selectmen Monday heard serious warnings about reducing nitrogen levels in Sengekontacket Pond.

With members of the Joint Committee on Sengekontacket in attendance, the selectmen heard that based on a thorough review of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project study on the pond, nitrogen levels need to be reduced and removed.

State Says Aggressive Action Needed to Restore Pond Health

With high levels of nitrogen in Sengekontacket Pond threatening everything from marine life to property values, state and local environmental officials have outlined an aggressive plan to clean up the pond that ranges from diverting wastewater from several watersheds to designating the entire pond as a district of critical planning concern.

Decline in Water Quality Puts Island Ponds In Jeopardy

A pair of quahauggers stood waist-deep in Sengekontacket Pond early Thursday morning, the late August sun glinting off the calm water as they raked hardshell clams, perhaps a basketful for their dinner. The pond has been open to summer shellfishing this year for the first time since 2007.

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