Nantucket Harbor Board Advances Fuel-Access Letter, Eyes Digital Shellfish Licensing

NANTUCKET -- June 2, 2026, Nantucket Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board presses Select Board on Great Harbor Yacht Club fuel access and floats digital licensing overhaul. The board voted unanimously at its June 2 meeting to re-elect Andy Lowell as chair, Mr. Anderson as vice chair, and Peter Brace as secretary, welcoming new member Mr. Corn after the first contested board election in at least 11 years. The bulk of deliberation focused on a draft letter to the Select Board requesting that Town Counsel and the state Department of Environmental Protection review Great Harbor Yacht Club's Chapter 91 license to determine whether fuel service for commercial vessels is mandatory or optional, a distinction the club's own legal counsel has apparently contested. Vice Chair Anderson framed the matter as one of harbor safety and potential municipal liability, saying "we had one place to get fuel, the fuel was not available, and something happens." Natural Resources Director Jeff Carlson, joining remotely, noted that DEP Waterways has already agreed, through the town's Harbor Plan process, to conduct biannual Chapter 91 compliance audits with the town. Separately, members launched a broad discussion about replacing the town's physical shellfish license button system with phone-based digital licenses tied to annual catch reporting, a proposal Carlson called "all doable" given that mooring permit renewals already operate digitally in Nantucket.