The Weweantic River. Photo by: Jaime Rebhan
No harvesting of smelt by net will be allowed in Wareham’s Weweantic River for the next three years, following a vote by the Board of Selectmen at a Feb. 23 meeting.
The board’s vote followed the recommendations of Harbor Master Garry Buckminster and Brad Chase, a biologist from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Buckminster explained that the numbers of smelt are too low for the historic fishing site, and suggested a three-year fishing closure.
“I think three years is reasonable,” Buckminster said. “It’s the same thing that we would do for a shellfish closure, and the state is going to be monitoring [the site].”