And now for something completely different. On Friday, March 11, at the end of another busy week handling the town’s business, a call came into the Select Board’s office from a concerned citizen reporting what they believed was illegal shell fishing in Hiller Cove off Aucoot Road.
As he prepared to leave Town Hall for the weekend, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco took the call and decided to head to the location to handle the matter.
Coincidentally, Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh was also at Town Hall, as was Shellfish Officer Kathy Massey. The trio headed out to stop the unpermitted activity – so they thought.
Upon arriving, they spotted the kayaker just off shore but heading in. Asked if he was shell fishing, Kyle Kossak of Newport, Rhode Island, explained what he was up to. Kossak was cleaning the shoreline of trash.
“He stuck out like a sore thumb,” McIntosh quipped, “… but he was doing something good for the town.” McIntosh said that he, Massey and Lorenco were all equally astonished to find a private citizen, not only from another town but from another state, caring enough to clean up the shoreline in Mattapoisett. “We were in shock!”
Kossak said about once a week he drives to a location, unloads his kayak and sets out to explore the area and collect trash, “I’ve been doing it for about six or seven years,” he said. While he is not professionally involved in environmental issues of the day, Kossak said his girlfriend was an oceanographer. “So I hear a lot about environmental things.”
Kossak is a mechanical engineer, a University of Rhode Island graduate, currently employed by a company engaged in Naval contracts.
“This isn’t something you see every day,” said McIntosh, “not common.”
As for Kossak, it’s just part of his enjoyment of nature and contributing to the health of the oceans. And it isn’t the first time he’s been questioned by authorities. “I wasn’t surprised, it’s happened before. People are always polite and grateful when I explain when I’m doing.” He also added, “By the way, Mattapoisett is pretty clean.”
In a follow-up, Lorenco said, “I’d like to formally thank him for cleaning up Mattapoisett and bringing a smile on our faces … I certainly needed the laugh and some positive news.”
By Marilou Newell