Shellfish Conservation Committee

City of Biddeford Shellfish Conservation Committee January 17, 2024 6:30 PM Biddeford Pool Fire Department 2nd Floor Conference Room Status: 1. Roll Call 2. Adjustments to Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes 3.1. Approval of Minutes 11-15-23 Joint Harbor Shellfish Meeting Minutes 11-15-2023 3.2. Approval of Minutes 12-20-23 Joint Harbor Shellfish Meeting Minutes 12-20-2023 4. Presentation 4.1. Harbor Master Summary 5. Old Business 5.1. Shellfish Management Plan 2024 Shellfish Management Plan - 2024 5.2. Emergency Response Points - Information roll-out to City Council 5.3. Mooring Applications - general discussion of available automated software 5.4. Budget Workshop 6. New Business 7. Other Business 8. Adjourn Page | 1 1 Joint Harbor and Shellfish Mee?ng – Minutes Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Loca?on: Biddeford Pool Firehouse Time: 6:30 PM A? endees: Randy Demarais, Jim Lupian, Tom Milligan, Rob Simmons, Bill Stepchew, John Schafer 1. Harbor Master Summary The purpose of this discussion is to provide Commission members with a summary of events that required the a? en?on of our Harbor Masters during the period between scheduled Commission mee?ngs. This summary is not all inclusive. Rather, it provides us with a sampling of the range of issues our Harbor Masters deal with.  Deputy Harbor Master training – On-going every month.  New dock permits – Discussions con?nued with Sean Brown, developer of the property at 355 Pool Road, regarding docks and the possibility of a marina.  Trash bags – Our Deputy Harbor Master has retrieved numerous trash bags from the Saco River while onboard the West Wind. In an a? empt to determine their origin, Randy has taken bags home and gone through their contents, while wearing gloves, but has not been able to iden?fy the owners. Randy suspects these bags originated from the homeless popula?on in Mechanics Park.  Post storm inspec? on – A? er the severe December storm, both Harbor Masters did a shoreline inspec?on, repor?ng any washed-out areas to Public Works. 2. Marshall Alexander Recogni? on Plaque This project has been completed with the help of many individuals from the City and the Commission. Recogni?on of Marshall’s service to the City and the mari?me community con?nues to grow organically. And most recently, a photo of the monument was posted on the City website. 3. Emergency Response Points – Rob Simmons presented an overview of our ERP system, to include sample signage that will be posted at every response point. Special thanks to Jeff Demers for making the sample in record ?me. 2 4. Mooring Applica? on Fee – The $180 mooring applica?on fee passed its second reading at City Council on December 19th. The new fee will become ac?ve on January 19th, 30 days a? er the second reading. 5. Budget Workshop – A budget workshop will be scheduled in January. Some line items to be considered are ERP signage with installa?on costs and mooring applica?on so? ware. 6. Shellfish Management Plan, 2024 – The DMR requires each municipality to submit a Shellfish Management Plan. Peter Bouthille? e will be submi? ng the plan with the assistance of Bill Stepchew, Paul Lariviere and John Schafer. 7. New Business and Ques? ons – None. 8. Next Mee? ng Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2024 Loca?on: Biddeford Pool Firehouse Time: 6:30 PM 3  Shellfish Management Plan for Biddeford Pool - 2024 The City of Biddeford submits the following informa?on as required by DMR Regula?ons Chapter 7.20, which states that the Shellfish Management Plan shall consist of: A. A wri? en statement of goals and objec?ves that Biddeford plans to achieve as a result of its conserva?on program. B. A descrip?on of the various conserva?on measures that Biddeford intends to employ to reach those goals. Biddeford’s Shellfish Management Plan Goals:  To ensure and improve the water quality of Biddeford Pool and its tributaries.  To preserve Bideford’s strong shellfish economy, suppor?ng the 10 commercial licenses and the addi?onal 250 plus recrea?onal licenses given out annually. Objec? ves: A comprehensive Plan will be developed to guide protec?on ac?vi?es and provide ac?on strategies for the protec?on of Biddeford Pool and its tributaries. The Plan will establish the framework and provide individual guidance so that the City of Biddeford, Biddeford’s Shellfish Commission, Federal and State agencies, and other stakeholder groups can work together across municipal and poli?cal boundaries toward the common goal of watershed protec?on. Ac? ons to Accomplish Goals and Objec? ves  Biddeford’s Shellfish Commission will engage State and Federal governing agencies as well as key watershed stakeholder groups, to review all previously completed work and data pertaining to water quality in Biddeford Pool and its tributaries.  Agencies and stakeholders to be included are: Maine Department of Environmental Protec?on US Environmental Protec?on Agency 4  York County Soil & Water Conserva?on District Maine Department of Marine Resources University of New England  Biddeford’s Shellfish Commission will establish a framework for the Partnership with the above agencies and stakeholders, star?ng with a Workshop where previous efforts and exis?ng data can be shared and analyzed by all.  A comprehensive Plan for monitoring and improving the water quality of Biddeford Pool and its tributaries will be developed and executed by the above-men?oned members of the Partnership.  Specific ac?ons required by the Plan will be detailed to include WHO will do the work, WHEN the work will be accomplished and HOW will the work be evaluated to ensure that the Plan is effec?ve and accomplishing goals and objec?ves.  Biddeford’s Shellfish Commission will review and update Biddeford’s Shellfish Ordinances to ensure that all sustainable improvement efforts defined in the Plan will be on-going, con?nuously improving the quality of water in Biddeford Pool and its tributaries in future years. JNS: 2024 Shellfish Mgt Plan, 010724 5