The Vineyard bay scallop season is underway and the news is mostly good for local consumers and commercial fishermen alike. Chilmark is having one of its best seasons in years; Edgartown is having one of its worst. Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are doing fine and on Monday another banner year is set to open in Aquinnah.
The Atlantic codfish, once the most important fish in the waters of southeastern New England, is on the verge of collapse.
Striped bass is one of the Island's favorite seasonal fish.
And its season in fish markets and restaurants is about to close for
another year.
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the New England Fishery
Management Council (NEFMC) have come under harsh attack from a number of
different environmental organizations for not having done enough to
protect fish stocks.