Mark Alan Lovewell
Vineyard lobstermen face a drastic cut in what they are able to land, and that cut could come as early as next year. The focus on fast action follows new expert endorsements of a report describing a fishery on the verge of collapse and in need of closure.
It is unlikely to affect lobster consumers, as nearly all the lobsters sold on the Island, especially this time of year, come from Maine and Canada, which would be unaffected by the proposed cuts of up to 75 per cent or by any moratorium.
A historic catboat named Edwina B. is the most recent acquisition of the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust. The 22-foot wooden boat, built by Manuel Swartz Roberts in Edgartown in 1931, is possibly the last of three catboats he built still in the water.
The nearly 80-year-old boat has had a circuitous life with different names and different ports of call. She has been part of the Edgartown waterfront for at least the past 20 years. The former owners see the boat’s journey bringing her to Edgartown to stay.
Emily Bramhall, a longtime business owner on Main street in Vineyard Haven, and for an equal number of years a hardworking volunteer with a number of Island nonprofits, is this year’s recipient of the Spirit of the Vineyard Award, given annually by Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard.
Black sea bass should be another New England fisheries success story. Years ago they were scarce but now they seem to be everywhere in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. Nevertheless, regulators farther down the coast still consider the fish in trouble, so local commercial fishermen are feeling shut out of what is an apparently healthy, growing fishery.
Shotgun season for deer began on Monday and the first week of the 12-day season was marked by good weather and a decent harvest by hunters.
By 1 p.m. yesterday, Brian Hawthorne, a forester for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, had seen 71 deer come through the deer check-in station in the state forest.
Most Massachusetts saltwater recreational fishermen will be required to purchase a $10 license if they plan on putting a hook in the water next year.
There are exceptions. Fishermen who are younger than 16 or disabled are exempt, for instance, as are fishermen on a state permitted charter fishing boat.
The new license is going to have the biggest impact on charter fishing captains. While their patrons aren’t going to be required to have the license to go out on a boat and fish, some captains will be required to pay a hefty fee above last year.