Overfishing may be the buzz word on the waterfront to explain the decline of many stocks of fish around Vineyard waters, but it isn’t heard often enough when it comes to explaining the loss of bait fish.
On Wednesday night at the Chilmark Public Library, a lone man stood before an audience of anglers and commercial fishermen to report the worst environmental tale needing to be told is the loss of one of the most valued forage fish in the ocean, which used to swim in abundance in these waters but is almost gone — menhaden.
The 22nd annual two-day monster shark tournament in Oak Bluffs ended Saturday with a total of 27 sharks caught and submitted, the largest of which was a 399-pound thresher. The team on the Waterbury caught the shark Friday, beating the other 200 boats in the tournament. Their prize was an $80,000 boat.
The 27th annual John Havlicek Celebrity Fishing Tournament made a lot of money for the Genesis Fund last weekend, and not all the draw was the celebrities who attended. Much of it had to do with good fishing, and that success was tied to Vineyard and Nantucket fishermen.
With the final numbers still being worked out, the long weekend event on the Vineyard grossed at least $340,000, slightly more than last year. The gathering included a live and silent auction at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown.
The days this summer for eating locally caught fluke on the Vineyard are coming to a close.
Fluke, also called summer flounder, are a flat fish. Their fillets are white and tasty, and most come from Vineyard Sound. Since the start of the summer, fluke have been the catch of the day.
On Tuesday, the state closed the commercial season for landing fluke, based on projected estimates that the state quota had been met.
A painting of a well-known Menemsha-based trawler by Heather Neill has been given to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum by an anonymous donor. The eight by four-foot painting, titled Strider’s Surrender, evokes the decline the local fishing industry.
The Quitsa Strider II is owned by respected Island fishermen Jonathan Mayhew. In a move symbolic of the dire state of the local fishing industry, Mr. Mayhew sold his federal permits last year, giving up his license and putting up the vessel itself for sale.
A fly-fishing class for beginning and experienced fishermen will be held Saturday, June 21, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club in Edgartown.
Sandra Demel and John Kollett will provide individualized casting instruction. Participants also will learn about basic knots, flies, building a leader, and putting gear together. Equipment will be provided or participants may bring their own.
Freshwater fishermen on the Vineyard who are interested in learning the mercury content of their catch are asked to call Alanna Purdy at 914-400-9241 to arrange for pickup and free analysis. The project is being sponsored by the Natural Resources Department of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
Fish, Fish, Fish will be the topic of Louis Larsen’s talk at the next Friends of the Library speakers bureau at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Vineyard Haven library. Mr. Larsen is the owner of the Net Result. Refreshments will be served following the talk.
The worldwide oil price crisis is hitting Island commercial fishermen hard. Already struggling with more restrictive regulations and declining landings, Vineyard small-boat fishermen now face fuel prices that have doubled in a year.
Capt. Wayne Iacono of Chilmark is a commercial lobsterman who fishes out of Menemsha. With the decline in lobsters in Vineyard waters, he already had taken a second job as a plumber.
