Each fall, moorings in Nantucket Harbor are removed to make way for dredges that comb bay scallops out of the eelgrass. But traditional mooring chains tear up eelgrass, putting the beds and their resident scallop populations in jeopardy.
So Nantucket Land & Water Council has been working with Harbormaster Sheila Lucey on an alternative system.
RJ Turcotte is Waterkeeper for NLWC. He said tackle that floats above the eelgrass has been available for years. However, it’s typically paired with a permanent anchor that might interfere with scallop dredging. So they’re testing a pyramid-style anchor that can be installed in the spring and taken up in the fall.
NLWC has already tested the system on its own 17-foot Waterkeeper boat.
"We purposely had our mooring handler put the mooring is a spot of eelgrass," Turcotte explained. "And we’ve been monitoring it now since 2022. So it’s been three full seasons of it doing just fine."
This spring the Council hopes to work with 20 to 25 boat owners to install test moorings that will be monitored throughout the season.
"And then we’ll see how they do for a season," said Turcotte. "We’re going to try to monitor where they are and if there’s any scour."
NLWC is currently fundraising to provide anchors and tackle for the pilot project. It will give the equipment to volunteer boat owners, with boats under 25 feet, who have moorings in eel grass in the lower part of Nantucket Harbor.
