By WXTK News
Apr 30, 2021
Officials in Chatham are concerned about the Coast Guard’s plan to downgrade the station in town from a surf station to a heavy weather station, which means it will be unable to respond to emergency calls when the surf at the choppy Chatham coast is greater than 8 feet.
Select Board Chair Shareen Davis says the town is urging neighboring towns and boaters to submit written comments opposing the Coast Guard’s plans.
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CHATHAM – The first of two 45-foot Coast Guard rescue vessels has been delivered, and the second vessel could be arriving this summer. But town officials are not giving up on their efforts to convince the agency to reverse course and keep a surf-ready vessel and trained crew in town to handle rescues on the notoriously shallow and dangerous sandbars that impede entry to the town’s Atlantic port.
On Tuesday, Chatham Select Board members agreed to go forward with a campaign seeking the support of other Cape towns in pushing the region’s congressional delegation to advocate for Coast Guard Station Chatham to retain its designation as a surf station, with a vessel and crew capable of operating in large breaking seas on both of the town’s Atlantic inlets.
CHATHAM Chatham has one of the most treacherous harbor entrances on the East Coast. The challenge is not just how to get over the shifting sandbars in breaking surf, but how to rescue those who get mauled in the attempt.
“For most of us, that’s the most dangerous part of the day that hundred yards getting yourself over the bar,” said Nick Muto, a commercial fisherman.
Town officials are concerned about U.S. Coast Guard plans to retire three 42-foot near shore rescue vessels that were built in 2010 specifically to handle the town’s shallow sandbars and breaking waves.
CHATHAM With the keystroke of an electronic signature, the Select Board signaled an end Monday night to seven years of bitter wrangling with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over control of fisheries in the waters off Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.
The board signed a memorandum of understanding that codified the relationship that exists now between the town and the federal agency in which Chatham continues to manage fisheries for clams, oysters and scallops in the disputed area and the two parties agree to work together on future changes as new fisheries or fishing technologies emerge.
“This memorandum of understanding creates a process to ensure the sustainable management of fishery resources that have been so important to our town and ensures our town will continue to manage these fisheries consistent with past practices,” board Chair Shareen Davis said. The agreement does continue a ban on harvesting mussels, which are eaten by migrating waterfowl.