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Home My WebLink AboutEEA# 16696 Town of Barnstable to MEPA 5-24-23The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (617) 626-1520 | www.mass.gov/marinefisheries MAURA T. HEALEY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL REBECCA L. TEPPER THOMAS K. O’SHEA DANIEL J. MCKIERNAN Governor Lt. Governor Secretary Commissioner Director SOUTH COAST FIELD STATION CAT COVE MARINE LABORATORY NORTH SHORE FIELD STATION 836 S. Rodney French Blvd 92 Fort Avenue 30 Emerson Avenue New Bedford, MA 02744 Salem, MA 01970 Gloucester, MA 01930 May 24, 2023 Secretary Rebecca Tepper Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Attn: MEPA Office Nicholas Perry, EEA No. 16696 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Secretary Tepper: The Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) has reviewed the Environmental Notification Form (ENF) by the Town of Barnstable for its Cotuit Bay Entrance and Embayment Channel Maintenance Dredging Project. MA DMF also participated in the Remote Consultation Session for this project hosted by MEPA on May 24, 2023. The project site is located at the entrance and within the embayment of Cotuit Bay as well as at the east end of Dead Neck Beach in the Town of Barnstable. Proposed maintenance dredging would remove a total of 18,649 cubic yards of sediment with 14,863 and 3,786 cubic yards associated with the entrance and embayment channels, respectively. The Cotuit Entrance Channel would be dredged to a depth of -8.0 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) and the Cotuit Embayment Channel would be dredged to a depth of -10.0 feet MLLW with both regions also including a 1 foot allowable overdredge and 3H:1V sideslopes. Dredging would be performed by hydraulic dredging with sediment pumped to a dewatering area located above mean high water (M HW) adjacent to the nourishment footprint on Dead Neck Beach. Nourishment material would be deposited over an approximate 128,132 square foot region of Dead Neck Beach. All proposed dredging and nourishment activities are anticipated to occur between October 2023 and mid-January 2024. Existing marine fisheries resources and habitat are outlined in the following paragraphs following by comments on the ENF filing. The Cotuit Bay maintenance dredge footprint includes mapped shellfish habitat for quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria). Regions bordering the dredge track also include mapped habitat for soft shell clam (Mya arenaria) as well as shellfish aquaculture grants. Waters within and bordering the project site have habitat characteristics suitable for these species. Land containing shellfish is deemed significant to the interest of the Wetlands Protection Act (310 CMR 10.34) and the protection of marine fisheries. Waters bordering the dredge track and offshore of the nourishment site have been previously mapped by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) as eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows (Figure 1). Eelgrass beds provide one of the most productive habitats for numerous marine species [1,2] and are designated “special aquatic sites” under the Federal Clean Water Act 404(b) (1) guidelines. However, eelgrass distribution has declined statewide in 2 the past decade [3] mirroring global losses due to eutrophication and other anthropogenic impacts [4]. Figure 1. Eelgrass identified by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in previous surveys of the of the project site. Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) use Cotuit Bay as spawning habitat. Winter flounder enter the area and spawn from January through May; demersal eggs hatch approximately 15 to 20 days later. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has designated winter flounder spawning habitat as a “Habitat Area of Particular Concern” (HAPC). In the previous stock assessment, the winter flounder stock was classified as overfished with spawning stock biomass in 2019 estimated to be only 32% of the biomass target [5]. Spawning stock biomass in 2021 was estimated to be 101% of the biomass target based on a new recruitment stanza focusing only on the past twenty years [6]. Given the new status of the winter flounder stock, every effort should be made to protect the species and its spawning habitat. The Cotuit Bay entrance channel provides passage for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) to nearby nesting beaches within Cotuit Bay. Horseshoe crabs deposit their eggs in the upper intertidal regions of sandy beaches from late spring to early summer during spring high tides. Adult crabs congregate in deep waters during the day while they wait to spawn on nearby beaches at night. Eggs hatch approximately two to four weeks later. The 2019 benchmark stock assessment indicates that the New England horseshoe crab stock status has shifted from poor to neutral [7] . Because of its dependence on nearshore shallow beaches and channels as habitat, this species has a high risk of impact during dredging and beach nourishment projects. 3 The Cotuit Bay entrance channel also provides passage for American eel [8]. Eels migrate through the entrance and embayment channel dredge areas towards foraging and nursery habitat in the Little River. MA DMF offers the following comments for your consideration: • Avoidance of in-water work is recommended from January 15 to May 31 to protect winter flounder during the spawning period, larval settlement and juvenile development and from May 1 to June 30 to protect adult horseshoe crabs staging to spawn in migratory channels [9]. The combined time of year (TOY) restriction recommendation to protect both species from dredging impacts is January 15 to June 30. The proposed work window identified in the ENF of October to January 14th is consistent with this TOY avoidance. • Dredging activity should be performed in coordination with local aquaculture operators to minimize impacts to these grants. • A minimum buffer of 75 feet is recommended from the top of the dredge slope to the nearest eelgrass vegetation. Since eelgrass beds are ephemeral, changes to eelgrass distribution that have occurred since previous dredging events should be identified prior to all dredging activities. Given that eelgrass has been mapped in close proximity to the proposed dredge tracks, MA DMF recommends that an in-water survey be conducted within the growing season prior to dredging to accurately delineate current eelgrass extent for the purposes of avoiding direct impacts and also maintaining a minimum 75 foot buffer to reduce the likelihood of indirect impacts (e.g., turbidity, slumping, burial). Surveys should be consistent with methods described in the MA DMF Eelgrass Survey Guidelines [10]. • A minimum 100 foot buffer is recommended between the seaward extent of the nourishment footprint and the nearest landward edge of any bordering eelgrass. Given that nearshore waters off the Dead Neck Beach nourishment site have previously been mapped as eelgrass habitat, MA DMF also recommends an in-water survey for the waters bordering the nourishment site be conducted within the growing season prior to nourishment following MA DMF survey guidelines [10]. Questions regarding this review may be directed to John Logan in our New Bedford office at john.logan@mass.gov. Sincerely, Daniel J. McKiernan 4 Director cc: Barnstable Conservation Commission Jimmy Hill, FOTH Sabrina Pereira, NMFS Rebecca Haney, Robert Boeri, CZM Rachel Croy, Ed Reiner, EPA David Wong, DEP Amanda Davis, Emma Gallagher, Simone Wright, Terry O’Neil, Matt Camisa, DMF References 1. Jackson EL, Rowden AA, Attrill MJ, Bossey SJ, Jones MB. The importance of seagrass beds as a habitat for fishery species. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. 2001;39: 269–303. 2. Heck KL Jr, Carruthers TJB, Duarte CM, Hughes AR, Kendrick G, Orth RJ, et al. Trophic transfers from seagrass meadows subsidize diverse marine and terrestrial consumers. Ecosystems. 2008;11: 1198–1210. 3. Costello CT, Kenworthy WJ. Twelve-year mapping and change analysis of eelgrass (Zostera marina) areal abundance in Massachusetts (USA) identifies statewide declines. Estuaries and Coasts. 2011;34: 232–242. 4. Orth RJ, Carruthers TJB, Dennison WC, Duarte CM, Fourqurean JW, Heck Jr. KL, et al. A global crisis for seagrass ecosystems. BioScience. 2006;56: 987–996. 5. ASMFC. Southern New England Mid-Atlantic Winter Flounder 2020 Assessment Update Report. http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/6008bd822020_SNE- MA_WinterFlounderAssessmentUpdate.pdf. Accessed November 22, 2021. 2020. 6. ASMFC. Southern New England Mid-Atlantic winter flounder 2022 Management Track Assessment Report. Compiled June 2022. https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/saw/sasi.php. 2022. 7. ASMFC. 2019 Horseshoe Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report. Prepared by the ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Review Panel pursuant to NOAA Award No. NA15NMF4740069. http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5cd5d6f1HSCAssessment_PeerReviewReport_May2019. pdf. 2019. 8. MA DMF. MassGIS Data: Diadromous Fish. https://www.mass.gov/info -details/massgis- data-diadromous-fish. Accessed February 8, 2023. 2023. 9. Evans NT, Ford KH, Chase BC, Sheppard J. Recommended Time of Year Restrictions (TOYs) for Coastal Alteration Projects to Protect Marine Fisheries Resources in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report, TR -47. https://www.mass.gov/doc/time-of-year-recommendations-tr-47/download. Accessed September 29, 2021. 2011. 5 10. Evans NT, Leschen AS. Technical guidelines for the delineation, restoration, and monitoring of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Massachusetts coastal waters. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report TR-43. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/dmf/publications/tr-43.pdf. 2010. DM/JL/sd