On May 15, Megan Tyrrell of Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve reached out to neighbors of Waquoit Bay to report that “…the northern ~1⁄3 of Waquoit Bay had massive, thick algal mats that had apparently floated up from the bottom. The mats were so large and thick, they were unavoidable while transiting from north to south. They caused two different boat engines to overheat; it looked like the Sargasso Sea.” The accompanying photos sent shock waves through our organization, Citizens for the Protection of Waquoit Bay (CPWB).

We forwarded Tyrrell’s email and photos to the Water Quality Management Committee (WQMC) and were appreciative of remarks made by chairman Steve Rafferty at the May 21 WQMC meeting: “I do want to note that we got a real wake-up call over the last week. Ever

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