Mark Alan Lovewell
Buffeted by sharp northeast winds whipping off Nantucket Sound, marchers in the annual Island Veterans Day parade yesterday were met by a burst of bright sunshine as they headed up Lake avenue in Oak Bluffs toward Ocean Park. It was the first time anyone on the Island had seen sunshine in over a week.
Warm, golden rays broke through the slate-gray cloud cover as uniform-clad members of the honor guard struggled to hold their flags upright in the ferocious wind.
The commercial fishing quota for striped bass for the region will remain the same next year and beyond. At a meeting in Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass management board voted to keep the quota the same. The commission had been poised to raise the quota.
The perceived decline in striped bass stocks was underscored by a report out of Maryland last month that shows fewer young fish than last year in Chesapeake Bay, the place where stripers spawn.
The annual young-of-the-year index for striped bass released by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is 5.6, well below the average of 11.6. Last year, the index was 7.87; in 2008 it fell to 3.20. In 2007 the index was 13.39.
The young-of-the-year index is considered a barometer on the health of striped bass, which spawn in the spring each year.
There were more than enough good fishing days this fall to spread into October. The 18th annual Octoberfish tournament, offered by Larry’s Tackle Shop, saw plenty of fish and fishermen. The biggest fish was a 16.80-pound bluefish caught from the shore by Luc Mercier of Edgartown. He weighed in his fish at the tackle shop on Oct. 25. His fish was caught more than a week after the close of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Had it been caught earlier, it would have put him on top of both contests.
With the commercial bay scallop season off to a lively start, those who love to eat scallops will find plenty at the local market. But there will be sticker shock; the price is well up this year, with Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket again the only big sources for freshly harvested bay scallops.
Bay scallops were retailing at about $22 a pound on the Vineyard on Wednesday.
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
It happens for one day each year. And over the course of 19 years, the Vineyard volunteers who sponsor the annual crop walk have raised over a quarter million dollars to feed the hungry, both here and afar.
Crop Hunger Walk marchers stepped onto the pavement in front St. Augustine’s Church on Sunday on their 20th annual mission, a walk of six and two-thirds miles (ten kilometres).