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.
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.
Oyster season in Chilmark is set to begin on Monday after the board of selectmen approved the opening of the short season.
At the selectmen’s weekly meeting on Tuesday, the board approved a recommendation from the shellfish committee that permits two heaping bushels a day, Monday through Wednesday. The season ends April 30. Shellfish constable Isaiah Scheffer said half a dozen oystermen had expressed interested in permits — “a controlled amount,” Mr. Scheffer added.
On one of the calm, unseasonably warm early December days we had last month, my husband Isaac took our three-year-old son Emmett and me scalloping
Lake Tashmoo, which had been closed to shellfishing because of a rare toxic algae bloom, reopened Friday morning.
A press release from the town of Tisbury said that the state notified shellfish constable Danielle Ewart on Friday morning to say that additional testing indicated the pond had been cleared and that it could be reopened to shellfishers immediately.
Ms. Ewart discovered the bright pink algae bloom called prorocentrum lima in the outside flats of Lake Tashmoo a few weeks ago. The algae has been associated with diarrheal shellfish poisoning.
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.