For years, the problem of invasive weeds in the Nemasket River has been steadily growing, with fertilizer runoff and low water levels providing an ideal environment for plants like the Eurasian milfoil to thrive in the river’s slow-moving water.
Concerned that this vital herring passageway was in danger of becoming impassable, the Middleboro-Lakeville Herring Fisheries Commission has been working to find a possible solution to the problem that satisfies all the environmental and political interests inherent in any project affecting the river.
After years of delays due to state and federal permitting issues, the commission was finally able to take the first step in combating the problem with the August 2021 test of the Ecoharvester, a machine designed to pull the invasives out by their roots and deposit them on the shore in a manner specifically designed to reduce the likelihood of causing any further growth.
This documentary examines the issues creating the permitting delays and takes viewers on-site as the years of planning culminates in the first loads of weeds being removed from the Nemasket River.
File: 211013 Harvesting the Nemasket v1.mp4