The state Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission voted late last month to adopt a 16-inch minimum size limit on the two fish, which are staples of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
At 5 a.m. on a recent morning, Noah Mayrand started up his boat and set-out from West Chop looking for false albacore.
At the 79th annual iteration of the derby, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 19, false albacore will be eligible for daily awards and daily prize money is going up.
There is a seasonal change on the water this week. Atlantic bonito are showing up in greater numbers just south of the Island and false albacore are only a few weeks away. There are also more stories of tuna.
Steve Morris of Dick’s Bait and Tackle Shop had an early birthday present on Monday. Mr. Morris turns 50 years-old next Thursday and to celebrate he went offshore fishing with Greg Lee. They went on Mr. Lee’s boat, Sea Ox II, and caught long-fin albacore and one 40-pound wahoo.
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
The largest false albacore caught from the shore was landed last Saturday. Keith A. McArt of Somerville, a well-respected derby fisherman, caught a 16.55-pound false albacore while fishing off Lobsterville Beach. Quite a few fishermen saw him land the fish.
The 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is now entering its third week with still two weeks to go.
Local fishermen landed more than 100,000 pounds of fluke this summer at Menemsha. The landings by 10 small draggers and about five handline fishermen represents one-seventh of all the landings made in the state. The state quota for fluke was 702,614 pounds.
The report on local landings came out of a state fisheries public hearing held in Tisbury on Monday afternoon.