Times were uncertain, paychecks were small, cod were scarce, there was talk of fishing moratoriums and small boats being pushed out of the fisheries. Then meeting notices started appearing around the docks, talking about organizing a group of hook and line fishermen.
“These moratoriums were going to be based on catch history and these big decisions by the councils were making people antsy, there were red flags,” said Mark Simonitsch, who had some signs at what was then his dock on Stage Harbor. “And people were seeing less cod fish.”
Papers were filled with news like this, from the New York Times, headlined “Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Not Anymore.”
Chris King got into the commercial fisheries with his father, has been on his own for three decades, and has seen a lot of changes.
Now comes warming waters.
“My brother said to me it seems the water is warming and we are not catching flatfish,” King said after his brother came home from a recent trip on their boat, the Donna Marie.
A Provincetown native, with business interests in wholesale and retail, King’s offshore business plan is scalloping and then groundfishing, which the Donna Marie pursues from October to March. So if fish aren’t where they are supposed to be, maybe because of water temperature, it affects his bottom line.
Five years ago, John Pappalardo and Nick Muto were sitting at the Fishermen’s Alliance office chatting about the 25th anniversary of the nonprofit when they were asked to look 25 years into the future:
The following story ran in the Cape Cod Chronicle in 2016.
When local shellfishermen wanted help setting up a meeting with officials from the state division of marine fisheries to discuss changes in regulations governing quahog size, they turned to an unlikely source: The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance.
Until fairly recently, few would have made a connection between the Alliance and shellfish. Last year, however, the West Chatham-based organization invested in a 13 percent ownership stake in Aquaculture Research Corporation in Dennis, helping save a company that provides dozens of communities with seed shellfish and becoming a player in the Cape's commercial shellfishing industry.
They say a photo is worth a thousand words, the images in the gallery are at least that. They tell the story of our journey and all the people who helped us along the way - many of whom are going to be with us as we navigate the next 30 years ago. They also provide a fun look back at our younger selves and the issues we campaigned for. Thanks for being part of our history, present and future.
Much of this month’s issue conjures up stories and images going back 30 years, when the first incarnation of this alliance came together as “the hook” and then evolved.
Now it’s my turn to pivot, look forward, and peer into a crystal ball:
What might the next 30 bring?
After staring awhile, and closing my eyes awhile too, here are some things I now foresee:
Local food production will become more and more important. The amazing interconnected, multinational network that emerged in the last generation, moving food all over the world as a matter of course, will contract because of infrastructure challenges and big carbon footprints. We will rely more on our own communities, our own region, and a decentralized approach.
That means our style of fishing and harvest will not only remain viable, it will become even more attractive.
As part of that, our communities are going to reimagine and expand how we work the near shore. Aquaculture will continue to grow and diversify. We’ll be engaged in things like kelp farming (already going) or even algae production along with oysters and quahogs. We’ll be growing mussels and scallops, cultivate flats and shallows for a whole variety of harvest. And we’ll do it within the small-scale diversified ownership model we use now, not allowing large-scale, vertically integrated corporations to control our maritime economy.
Along similar lines, our small-boat, independent fleet will survive. Boats will become even more sophisticated, automated. We will see the arrival of battery-powered fishing boats, maybe with onboard solar or wind charging built into trips and power trains.
That said, we may also see fewer ports and harbors dedicated to commercial fishing, a consolidation. Climate change and economics will drive this.
We also will see a profound shift in the species our industry lands. Climbing temperatures will make our waters less hospitable to iconic cold-water fish like cod, haddock and flounders.
Looking south, we can see where we might be in three decades. Maybe we’ll be shrimp ports, hard as that is to accept; shrimping has already traveled north from the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Georgia as far as Virginia. Black sea bass will be a staple not as plentiful as codfish of old but still plenty.
I see us continuing to have a lucrative scallop fishery, but instead of being in the middle of prolific scallop grounds that run from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Maine, we will be at the southern boundary of the fishery.
How about lobsters, another profitable target? My prediction is that our backshore lobster fishery, meaning east of the arm of the Cape, will stay strong because lobsters out there belong to a big cohort that reaches all the way to Georges Bank and deep-water canyons. Warming waters will create more challenges in Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound.
Speaking of warmer, one byproduct of climate change is going to be increasing tension between commercial fishing and recreational fishing. Down south that friction already is serious, and recreational guys have more money and political clout so they have been driving rules and regs. Around here commercial fleets work all year, but recreational fleets don’t like to (or need to) freeze. As the recreational season lengthens conflicts are bound to get worse. We need to get ahead of this and do a better job finding mutual benefit rather than always focusing on resource competition.
All this prognosticating reminds me of an appropriate book right about now, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” You’ll remember that the third ghost visiting Scrooge was the Ghost of Christmas Future, and the visions he offered were depressing to say the least. But he made sure Scrooge understood that these were glimpses of what might be, not what had to be. Scrooge had the capacity to change that future, and he did, by changing the present.
For 30 years, we’ve been trying to change the present as a way of improving the future. My crystal ball shows me clearly that – with your support -- this is the path we will travel for decades to come.
In the meantime, here’s a hope much closer to now: enjoy a wonderful holiday season, and a joyous New Year.
We want to thank our amazing 2021 community of supporters. Your generosity throughout the year, over multiple years, makes an impact. Thank you to event attendees, sponsors, Falmouth Road Race runners, local business partners, and annual donors. You make a difference in the lives of fishermen and help sustain our robust, ocean-dependent Blue Economy. Your donation strengthens the Fishermen's Alliance and allows us to take action on our mission-driven initiatives. You help to preserve Cape Cod’s unique, historic fishing tradition, ensuring that our working waterfronts remain healthy, supporting an active year-round fishing community. If you would like to find out ways to support in 2022, contact Jennifer Bryant, jennifer@capecodfishermen.org.
On the Water
Ever wonder how a boat, or a fish, got its name? Want the word on what people are catching --- or how to cook it?
The Fishermen's Alliance has had many memorable moments in its history, but one of the most talked about is when Captain Fred Bennett, an original member, broke a flower pot. Hear him tell the story in this podcast and also read some snippets from the oral histories of several captains here.
On the Shore
This community thrives in large part because of a constellation of non-profit organizations and engaged businesses.
We had a marvelous time joining Broad Reach Healthcare’s staff and guests for their holiday party, hosted under a big white tent beside their assisted living and acute care facility in Chatham. Captains Bill and Jason Amaru graciously helped serve up our “Small Boats Big Taste” haddock chowder. We’ll be partnering with Broach Reach, thanks to a grant from Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation, to get our healthy, preservative-free chowder to residents, so this was a great introduction.
Despite access to abundant and delicious fish harvested in New England, competing with inexpensive imported fish is an ongoing challenge. So we’re working with Gulf of Maine Research Institute and others – including our partners at Maine Fishermen’s Association – on a regional seafood system partnership. The aim, with help from a grant from USDA, is to build value and demand for local seafood with a resilient seafood system. Stay tuned.
Here’s a grateful spotlight on the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area. Like many of us, they are worried about a proposal by the company decommissioning Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Holtec, to discharge millions of gallons of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay, and they’ve let the world know. We’re also working with concerned parties, in and out of government, to get this very bad idea off the table.
On the Hook
We do a lot of reading, searching through the wide world of fisheries, and often find intriguing pieces to share. In the old days, you might call this your clipping service.
Climate change is having cascading effects. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the lobster fishery. Here is the first in a series on Maine lobstermen created by a partnership between The Portland Press Herald and The Boston Globe.
Thanks to NOAA for highlighting our haddock chowder program, created to help fishermen help food banks during the ongoing challenges of COVID. There is also a video that celebrates the national effort and the people involved. Watch it here.
This article by Evan Senie in The Boston Globe has great advice for our visitors: Next time you head to the Cape, keep an eye out for the people down at the docks unloading thousands of pounds of dogfish and skate. And then when you stop by your favorite seafood restaurant for dinner ask if they have dogfish tacos and pan-fried skate. Read morehere.
