Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Eastham are in-person, typically with an online attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, Dec. 5
- Housing Authority, 4 p.m, Eastham Library
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m. Lower Cape TV, Orleans or online
Monday, Dec. 9
- Climate Action Committee, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 10
- Conservation Commission on-site, 8:15 a.m.
- Capital Projects Committee, 3 p.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 11
- Strategic Planning Committee: meeting canceled
- Community Preservation Act Committee, 5 p.m.
- Human Services Advisory Committee, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 12
- Affordable Housing Trust, 9 a.m.
Conversation Starter
Salt Pond Is Closed Again
The town’s dept. of natural resources has closed Salt Pond and the Salt Pond River to the harvest of shellfish because of “red tide,” a bloom of the algae Alexandrium. The closure was posted Nov. 28 and says the areas will remain closed until further notice.
The algae produces a neurotoxin that can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning. And while it does not affect the shellfish, it is harmful to the health of humans who might consume the shellfish.
According to the Centers of Disease Control, the toxins can cause both gastrointestinal and neurological problems, from nausea and vomiting to permanent memory loss and paralysis.
This bloom marks this year’s third red tide-related closure of Salt Pond, a popular Sundays-only recreational shellfishing spot for Eastham residents and visitors. The first, which began on Dec. 22, 2023, lasted for three weeks before the ban was lifted on Jan. 12. The second, which began on March 19, lasted 144 days until the pond reopened on Aug. 10, when the Div. of Marine Fisheries declared that the location “no longer contained biotoxins in excess of established standards.”
The pond also closed for five days from Sept. 21 to 25 after Eastham experienced 6.6 inches of rainfall in a single weekend.
According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, red tide has become more common in recent years; warming and excess nitrogen both play roles in promoting algal blooms. —Parker Mumford
