Editors of the Vineyard Gazette (Dear sir or Madam, as the circulars say):
Lake Tashmoo has been closed to shellfishing as of Wednesday afternoon due to the presence of a potentially toxic algae bloom.
Tisbury town administrator John Bugbee said Thursday that people should not shellfish in the body of water, and should dispose of all shellfish recently caught there, as there is no way of knowing how long the algae bloom has been in place.
Signs are posted along the shore.
Town waterway regulations were the topic of discussion on Tuesday night when members of the Tashmoo management committee, the harbor management committee and the general public met with the Tisbury selectmen.
In a special working session, the selectmen asked for public comment to clear up confusion over town mooring regulations, especially in Lake Tashmoo. The meeting was scheduled after a summer that saw several public disputes over increased rule enforcement at Lake Tashmoo.
The Indians of Martha’s Vineyard - so said a writer in the columns of the Gazette not many years ago - were our first and best poets.
One proof of this is the naming of that one of the Island’s ponds that most appropriately belongs in the classification of lake, and that has oftenest been compared to Killarney, both by those who refer only to the Irish lake as a worldwide criterion of beauty.
