A long-time charter captain with nearly 20 years experience fishing in Buzzards Bay and the Westport River has been named an assistant harbormaster and Westport's new deputy shellfish warden.

Raymond Jarvis was appointed unanimously to the positions by the Select Board Monday night, on the recommendation of Chris Leonard, Westport's Director of Marine Services.

Holding a four-inch thick stack of paperwork that he joked was Jarvis's resumé — "it's probably bigger than mine!" — Leonard told the board that Jarvis's experience and knowledge of local waters will serve Westport well. It also doesn't hurt that he lives less just a short distance from Westport Harbor, he said.

"We need to have able-bodied people that are close by," Leonard said. "Having someone that has the capabilities of Mr. Jarvis ... is an asset for the town."

Jarvis, who grew up in Mattapoisett, has 18 years experience chartering for bass, tuna and other species in Buzzards Bay waters. He has a background in fisheries biology and also serves as an instructor of marine technology at New Bedford Vocational.

Jarvis, whose SOTE (Salt of the Earth) charter fishing business runs a small fleet of Seacrafts, said he's looking forward to being part of Westport's team.

"I'd be happy to be a part of the team and look forward to helping out however I can," he said.

Around the harbor

In other watefront news:

* The harbormaster's office has actively started to collect waterway user fees.

* The pumpout program is starting up again. Leonard told the select board Monday evening that last year, Westport pumped nearly 9,000 gallons from heads.

* The annual quahog relay, in which quahogs are seeded throughout local waters by harbormasters and volunteers, has begun. So far, about 30 bushels have been seeded, out of an expected total this year of about 5,000 bushels.

* The harbormaster's office is concerned about the depth of the channel at the Lion's Tongue, from area 16A to 21. That area is shoaling up so much that some fishing boats in the harbor aren't able to get out to the bay unless the tide is at least half high. More on this story next week.