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An e-magazine about our fishing community --
who we are, how we fish and our connection to the sea
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Jonah crabs become an emerging opportunity alongside lobster | |
Andrew Spalt sat at a corner table at Fishermen’s View, a popular restaurant along the Cape Cod Canal in Sandwich, with a tortilla-chip ringed bowl of Jonah Crab hummus in front of him and a Jonah Crab melt sandwich in his hand.
The waitress came by and they chatted about the owners, Bob and Denny Colbert, who have been catching Jonah crab for decades and prepare it a host of different ways – Jonah Crab nachos anyone?
The Colberts’ boats land at the Sandwich Marina and people can buy fresh Jonah Crab at their retail shop as well as order it on the menu. But the crabs are mainly processed by Kildare Fisheries, on Prince Edward Island in Canada, where Jonah crab Spalt lands go as well.
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An ecosystem investigator remembers a tuna sleighride in Provincetown harbor | |
One of Gordon Peabody’s defining moments on Cape Cod was in the mid-1990s, when he became a member of the Provincetown conservation commission and involved in the environmental restoration of Hatches Harbor. That experience led to him becoming part of one of the largest environmental projects in the peninsula’s history: restoring the Herring River in Wellfleet.
While serving on a technical committee, reviewing science on the effects of 100 years of blocking most of the river’s tidal flow, he pored over the scientific data available. The news wasn’t good.
“It was kind of like an unflushed toilet. The Herring River had become an acid bath,” Peabody said.
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The new governor highlights food insecurity, and helps hand out some chowder and stew | |
Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll – days from becoming Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll -- joined a line of volunteers dishing up chicken, rice and lentils, Brussels sprouts and more lovingly-prepared food. It was all boxed and delivered to waiting cars in the parking lot of the former Riverway restaurant in South Yarmouth.
The governor-elect walked out orders to those who had contacted the Family Table Collaborative in need of a healthy meal. Driscoll, often accompanying her, carried containers of Haddock Chowder or Provencal Fish Stew in a January rain.
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The great Chatham bay scallop fishery | |
By Bill Amaru
Every year around this time, some of us think back to when skiffs from Stage Harbor to Ryder’s Cove were outfitted with bay scallop dredges.
They had culling boards and a mast with a block and tackle to haul the dredge, filled with succulent bivalves, into the boat.
Picture: Cape Cod Fishermen's Wives
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Photo Gallery: A tasty community collaboration | |
“Healthier people create healthier communities,” is the catchphrase of the Family Table Collaborative and local seafood is a big part of that. The Family Table gets donations from local fishermen, including Jesse Rose of the Midnight Our, as well as cases of haddock chowder and Provencal Fish Stew from the Fishermen’s Alliance. To highlight the Small Boats, Big Taste program and to share healthy, delicious, sustainable seafood caught by local fishermen, more than 200 containers of soup were given out as part of Gov. Maura Healey’s “Team Up Massachusetts” service event in Yarmouth. See how it unfolded.
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By John Pappalardo
Working to resurrect a buffer zone for herring
One of my most frustrating moments in many years working on fisheries issues arrived a few months ago, when a federal judge overturned a hard-fought reform that would have kept giant mid-water trawlers out of local waters, allowing herring and other crucial forage fish to return, school, and rebuild.
The New England Fishery Management Council, after more than a decade of debate, passed the new buffer zone with support from Maine to Rhode Island. The Department of Commerce agreed, and implemented. Independent fishermen up and down the coast, many of whom testified in favor of this essential step, celebrated a big win and almost immediately began to see results; more small fish, more big fish in pursuit, hope for a more robust, reviving ecosystem.
The trawlers appealed.
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On the Horizon
We have lots of exciting stuff happening.
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We are excited to kick off our first Meet the Fleet of the year on February 15 as a virtual cooking class with Chef Tyler Hadfield from The Rail. Join us from the comfort of your own kitchen and learn how to cook Monkfish Piccata. We will provide you with all the necessary ingredients and Chef Tyler will guide you through each step to prepare this tasty recipe. Check our website for details and to register.
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Find the perfect fishy gift in time for Valentine’s Day! Shop new YETI tumblers, cozy hoodies, wool beanies, shirts, cookbooks, hook bracelets and more. Items are available for shipping or pick up at our Chatham office. Visit our online store.
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Join The Fishermen Friends Society with monthly giving, a convenient way to support the Fishermen’s Alliance with automatic, recurring contributions. You can choose any amount to donate each month. Credit cards are charged monthly and you can stop or adjust your gift at any time. Members receive a special thank you gift at the end of the year. Start your monthly gift today!
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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?
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Visitors to our office are familiar with the 25-foot Grady White that took up residency in our driveway – a donation from one of our longtime supporters. It’s now found a great new home. We payed it forward to the marine services shop at Cape Cod Technical Regional High School. The students in Alex Riker’s class will fix it up and use it as a training vessel to learn boat handling and docking. We partner with Riker’s shop on outreach to introduce students to commercial fishing and they are always attentive, polite and helpful. When they picked up the boat, students volunteered to load a haddock chowder and Provencal Fish Stew donation into a waiting vehicle as well.
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On the Shore
This community thrives in large part because of a constellation of non-profit organizations and engaged businesses.
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The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is bringing back WaterWORKS and we are a part of it – you can be too. The event on Tuesday, March 14 is a half-day program on the Cape Cod Community College campus, which gathers high school students to learn about the Cape’s blue economy and introduces them to career opportunities. If your business or non-profit is dependent on the Cape’s marine resources and you want to connect with hundreds of the region’s students, click here to be an exhibitor.
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Thanks to the Massachusetts Food Systems Collaborative for highlighting our Small Boats, Big Taste program – as well as our overall mission to help fish and fishermen – in their last newsletter. Read more here.
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The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is hosting a “Public Perception of Seafood” event on January 29, from 2-4 p.m. A two-hour discussion delves into seafood purchasing. Do you base your preferences on sustainable fishing, cost, carbon footprint, where it’s caught or raised, or a combination of factors? Scientists, fishermen and others will be on hand, pulled together by the Boston Museum of Science, to hear your perspectives. The event is free with snacks and a $50 gift card. Call 508-896-3967 ext. 133 to register.
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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.
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Warming waters may be bringing more mantis shrimp to the Cape. They have been described as a delicacy -- and a killing machine. Read and listen here.
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The $1.7 trillion spending bill signed into law by President Biden on Dec. 27 has changed the landscape on whale regulations. Read how here.
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