Attendance:
Donna Brewer, Marsden Brewer, Bill Burt, Joe Buttner, Leo Byrnes, Diane Carle, Jim Fair, Harlyn Halvorson, J.Michael Hickey, Dale Leavitt, Diane C. Murphy, Philip R. Michaud Jr., Curtis Olsen, Susan Snow-Cotter, Scott Soares

Greetings Harlyn Halvorson and Dale Leavitt welcomed the group and thanked the Mass Maritime Academy for hosting the meeting.

Status of Sea Scallop Web Page - Richard Taylor described the new Web Page for Sea Scallops which can found at www.seascallop.com. He described the learning curve in generating the present web site and reviewed the present information available on the site. So far there has been a significant amount of feedback and he has been able to incorporate many views into the web site. The site includes maps where spat and adult scallops were found, currents in George's Bank, experience in collecting and outgrowing elsewhere, including Japan and New Zealand, references to scallop husbandry, and information about SSWG. Richard then introduced Marsten and Donna Brewer who have come down from Maine where they have done initial spat collection. At a recent meeting in Maine it was suggested to the legislator that collecting spat in state waters be part of the scallop license. Richard pointed out that one thing that Maine has that Massachusetts does not is a source of seed animals. The hatchery in Mass was successful for small production but not for commercial use. He invited members of SSWG to send him information, which can be included to expand the offerings of this site.

Mass. Ocean Resources Information System - MORIS MassCZM Susan Snow-Cotter explained that CZM is just getting underway with a new data management project, MORIS. This data (water quality, current, temperature, users, sediment characteristics, etc) will be brought together in one place, and eventually will be web based. For the moment it will be a CD process. This will be available to the public, especially aquaculture applicants. The first application that the project will be built around is aquaculture. We hope that this will be a toll that can be used by municipalities and state agencies to plan aquaculture as well as applicants to screen for sites. We have a contractor under hire. We are looking for suggestions and have met with an aquaculture focus group. We will include data sets that are already available, as Richard Taylor explained and new ones, as benthic characteristics, will have to be developed. In response to a question as to whether MORIS will deal with jurisdictional issues, Susan Snow-Cotter replied that they would be working with the Coastal Services Center in Charleston S. Carolina who will set up a Georegulation Framework for Massachusetts. The map will show you what regulations apply to any given area. The database will consist of spatial and non-spatial data. The Mass. GIS office is working on tools to make available GIS information. Phase 1 (accumulation of existing data - inventory) of the project will be done by December of this year. We will be working with CSIZ in Rhode Island to identify disposal sites for dredge material. We will look in the four major harbors in Mass.to include what fisheries information, sediment information, water quality, and other competing uses they may have. She then went on to explain the next phase of data management. We will do a pilot study with the Coastal management Center and the Beauford Lab focusing on eel grass somewhere in Cape Cod Bay. The next will involve shellfish mapping. There are no details as yet but we are in discussion with DMF. In response to an inquiry, they will include currents in their GIS maps.

Diane Carle demonstrated the data formats so far put into the database and how a user could extract the information he or she needs. The key is how you can pick the data in anyone place. So far the regulatory data has not been entered. A query was made as to whether an applicant could enter details of his project, and then is led to regulations, which apply. Ms. Carle said this was interesting but as yet had not been incorporated. After discussions with the industry, they chose to look at all of Massachusetts and tidal area - Cape Cod Bay. The industry came up with a more extensive (expensive) list that they would like to be included (dosesimetry, currents, climate data, competing uses, recreational activities, other fishing activities, habitat, water quality and water temperature). The next step in Phase 1 will be to see what data is available and prioritize what data needs to be collected. The most important step is to evaluate the data (Metadata). She described how this would be accomplished and how the reader would be able to evaluate the quality of that data. She then demonstrated how the regulatory data (Open Planning Information Systems for N. & S. Carolina, Georgia) would be included in Phase 2. In response to another query, some of the regulations are national and others are regional specific. The individual legislation and agencies, which have responsibilities, can be accessed. Next will be habitat mapping, starting with eelgrass and then extending to others in the biota. Richard Taylor went on the point out the advantages of including instruments on fishing vessels which could be fed into and enrich the database with delicate user feedback. Diane Carle said their goal was to generate a habitat map. Susan Snow-Cotter said the final goal was to put this on the Internet.

Roundtable on Experimental Rotations for Scallop Aquaculture in State Waters - Dale Leavitt, in introducing this roundtable, reminded the group of earlier discussions to replicate the New Zealand and Japanese efforts for raising sea scallops (spat collection, juvenile isolation, growout, with bottom seeding and finally collection) by employing Experimental Rotations for Scallop Aquaculture in State Waters. Jim Fair said this had been under discussion and the critical questions were when and where. He called attention to George's Bank where you close an area and allow it to repopulate. In the New Zealand project you not only close the beds but you have a rotational program. Richard Taylor said we have several choices: status quo (which leaves us with a relatively unproductive fisheries), limiting the number of permits to a few vessels with area management (maximize the harvest size), rotational closing (guaranteed employment for crooks!), and set out spat collection materials in relatively hostile environments (federal data shows that maximum settlement occurs just off and south of Boston). He pointed out that having an excess in one area allows us the opportunity to move them to another area for growout. Federal and State soverenties are involved.

Dale Leavitt stated that there are a number of steps to get this process going. Philip R Michaud Jr. noted that some of those big boats had to go somewhere and previously they depleted the Bay. Today things are looking better as there are better pickings for them elsewhere. For the smaller boats the range is limiting. He can afford only to steam for 4 hours then have 6 hours for collection - getting home the same day. He thought that it would add 2 hours to their steaming time and put them out of business. How do you close areas to protect the stocks? Mike Hickey thought the problem is coverage. Everytime you shift an area, you move the problem elsewhere. It is a zero sum game. Dale Leavitt said his thought was to outside of the actively fished areas, which are already well managed. He was thinking of areas, which are "nonproductive". You could identify areas where you could predictably good growth. Richard Taylor asked what would it take for North Shore Access Permit Holders to get some percentage of area 5 or 6? What would it take to make this politically acceptable? If many people are willing to do it, it becomes self-regulating. Mike Hickey replied that you have to develop local support. Many felt that it was already there. Mike replied that we have an open regulatory system. You need to submit a petition to Marine Fishery Commission and they would take it to a public hearing. You need to convince the Commission. Here is where the grass roots support comes in. The other problem has been that we have managed shellfish in isolation. Now we have to look at it in a more holistic way, as was recently demonstrated in Ipswich Bay. A question was raised about the small cod in the area. Richard Taylor said it would not matter since in the late summer they would be out of there. Joe Buttner asked, given the collective information we have here, are there areas that we could approach that kind of experiment? Mike Hickey replied that he did not know. In Cape Cod Bay the biggest users are lobstermen. The public hearing process, which is well advertised, is the correct way to go. Dale Leavitt remarked that these conflicts could be handled, but we would have to do our homework. Jim Fair stated that when dealing with the lobstermen they identified several areas that would have to be worked on. Richard Taylor said that we ought to be able to work this out. Mike Hickey described the structure of the Marine Fishery Commission, the fact that they meet once a month. , Philip R Michaud Jr said to proceed we need a champion and we need to reserve Cape Cod Bay for small boats. Leo Byrnes asked how large an area was being considered. Dale Leavitt said this has not been decided, we will need to form a committee to meet with DNF and develop the concept. Leo Byrnes suggested that if a small area was being considered could we not just go to a town for a shellfish permit. It was agreed that at this point there was insufficient planing to decide the approach. The first thing we need is a special permit from the State. A key decision will be a source of seed. Mike Hickey noted that after we solve the seed problem we need to address the cost (who pays for oversight), and management. Harlyn Halvorson said that one step was to attempt to collect spat in the water column. Together with Richard, and scientists from Woods Hole, we are attempting to do this now in Georgia's Bank. With these efforts, and the use of a shuttle from the ECOS Department at U Mass. Boston, we may have that data a year from now. This is a subject for discussion at future SSWG meetings. To proceed we need to be mindful of the jurisdiction of town to control shellfish, whether they decide to exercise this right or not.

Mass State Initiatives - Scott Soares reported the following actions from his office:

1. Three projects have been selected for partial funding through the Agriculture grants program.

Shared Harvest innovating tilapia culture (Umass Lowell& Cambodian Mutual Association $24,500).

Improving the Image of Massachusetts Aquaculture (Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group $12,500)

Marketing undersized tilapia in ethnic urban communities (Fresh Market Aquafarm - Holyoke $12,400).

2. A prepermit application meeting for

3. The Mass. Aquaculture grants for fiscal 2001 and survey will be mailed in June. The survey will provide input for the FY01 program.

4. The State budget for FY01 has not as yet been passed. DFA Aqua seems to be level funded at about $150,000 with $300,00 Bond support.

Next Meeting

It was agreed that a SSWG meeting would not be held this summer. The next meeting will be held in September, date to be announced later.

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Dr. Harlyn Halvorson

Director PCTMB

(508)-540-5441 (FAX)

(508)-540-1030>