CHATHAM – The Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners has voted to send a letter opposing the Coast Guard’s proposed removal of about 30 navigational buoys in Cape waters.
The letter is in solidarity with the Assembly of Delegates alongside regional harbormasters voicing concern over public safety should the buoys be removed and will be sent to the Coast Guard’s First District Commander, with copies for the Congressional Delegation.
“Many of our mariners rely on these buoys, particularly in low visibility,” said Chatham Harbormaster Jason Holm, a former coast guard officer himself, citing the shallow, fog-prone, and constantly shifting waters off Chatham as a key concern.
He was joined by Yarmouth Harbormaster David Condon, President of the Cape and Islands Harbormaster Association and Stuart Smith, Clerk of the Chatham Select Board and a former Harbormaster.
Among the criticisms of the proposal are concerns that fiscal pressures on the Coast Guard are causing budgetary concerns to be placed over the safety of the public.
According to the Coast Guard, the buoys in question are redundant and unnecessary.
“Removing aids to navigation in shark infested waters,” Commissioner Ron Bergstrom said, “is not the answer to the Coast Guard’s budget problems.”
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