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October 18, 2017
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Board, Shellfish Advisory Board discuss scallops and
fees.
Poetry group being launched at Westport Art Group.
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Board, Shellfish Advisory Board discuss scallops and fees. Baskets
vs. Bushels? EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
October 18, 2017 Photos |
EverythingWestport.com
Special Correspondent to EverythingWestport.com WESTPORT – In a famous Billy Joel song, the singer chronicles the life
of a fisherman – “these waters aren’t what they used to be, but I’ve got
people back on land who count on me.” Scallop fishermen in town sounded that same note at Monday’s selectmen
meeting. Marine services director Chris Leonard proposed a new structural
limit and measure for collecting scallops within the Westport River. Leonard asserted that the change and limit
will not impose a major restriction on fishermen. Fisherman Skip Manchester sounded a different note, appearing to agree
to the limit and saying that over-ambitious scallop harvesting could wreak
havoc on the river. Manchester noted that in years past, there is a scallop harvest after
a drought year. Last year, there was a drought in the state, leading to a
good commercial scallop season this year. The season officially began this
week. “To me, we need to back off on the river and respect it,” Manchester
said, and citing his decades of fishing on the river. “Whenever we ripped it
up, it was never good.” Fisherman David Grace warned against any limits on how much scallops
one could catch. “We all have rights to go there and catch it,” he said. “Why can’t we
take as much as we can.” To Chris Leonard, the director of marine services, the issue is not so
complex. He said his division is simply looking to modernize the practice and
come up with a universal measure. He said in the past, the town allowed wire
bushel baskets, which caused rust, safety and other issues. Leonard said the new plastic baskets offers 10 percent more scallops.
In all, each fisherman will be allowed seven bushels and 5.5 baskets. “It’s going to be close to the same but not a one-to-one conversion,”
he said. The Shellfish Advisory Board pointed out that the current permits list
bushel limits per day, but the plastic baskets are the choice of fishermen.
We need to bring our permit up to date, one Shellfish Advisory member said. In other news, Leonard put on his other hat as the harbormaster, and
talked about some “mooring” issues. Leonard said there are more than 300
commercial licenses but there are others that are moored without paying the
annual sticker fee. To curb the problem, Leonard and his staff will begin to
tow some of these vessels, and will start patrolling the river. Leonard recommended that that the annual fee for
commercial moorings rise from $40 to $60, and selectmen agreed to the
change. Leonard said after Monday’s meeting that his “24-7” department is self-sufficient,
relying solely on fees and not the town’s general treasury. These mooring patrols and the raised fees are essential for his
department, he said. There are many non-permitted moorings in the river,
Leonard said. “We need to remove the abandoned moorings and ask active
moorings without permits to obtain them, especially moorings in shallow
water. Poetry Group being launched at Westport Art Group. EverythingWestport.com
Monday, October 23, 2017 A group dedicated to writing and sharing poems is being launched at the
Westport Art Group, 1740 Main
Road, Westport from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2017. According to Peter Lenro, “This event is
being initiated by a number of people who have been writing poetry and want
to expand their group’s size and diversity.
We are aiming at a group of about ten, with variety of experience from
beginner to published author. We aim to
have each group member bring a poem that he/she has recently written.” The format of the group meetings is simple: The author of a poem
passes out copies of his/her poem, group members read the poem silently to
themselves, and the author then reads the poem out loud to the group. “Group members take turns offering thoughts about the poem,” Lenrow said. “When they are done, the author has a chance
to respond or comment. The next author passes out copies of his/her poem. We
don’t expect to enroll individuals who are earning a living as poets, because
it might make the rest of us feel too envious.” The feedback given on the writing is designed to encourage and
highlight the strengths of each poem. The group is not intended to address
the abstraction, “What is a poem?”
Rather, it focuses on what are the promising possibilities in each
individual offering. “We encourage writers to approach their poems as ways to tell a story,
create a song, share a perception, develop rhythms, explore words and sounds,
express feelings, and bring an idea alive with imagery. There’s no one way to
do this,” Lenrow said. They hope to include people of many ages (from students to retirees) and
from the many towns within easy commuting distance to the Westport Art Group,
at 1740 Main Road, Westport Point. It
is not intended for artists, but they promise not to hold it against you if
you are one. “We aim to have regular, two-hour meetings, and will discuss whether
this is feasible weekly or monthly,” Lenrow said. Please come and explore with them. The group is free. RSVP to: peterlenrow@aol.com - - - - - End - - - - - ©
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