Senator Markey stops by the fish pier
United States Senator from Massachusetts Ed Markey looked out at the bustling Chatham Fish Pier as boats navigated the tide to bring in dogfish and mackerel while a crowd watched and took photos from the observation deck. He wondered how the industry had fared during the pandemic, if the money he had fought for in the CARES Act made a difference...
Women's Work captured in photos and exhibit
Peggi Joseph, long dark hair tied in a ponytail, blue sweatshirt and matching rubber gloves peeking out of orange Grundens, makes quick work of packing thousands of pounds of haddock. Her image was captured by photographer Shareen Davis at Stage Harbor as Joseph moved hefty haddock into totes beside a bin of ice. Joseph seems unaware of the camera...
PHOTO GALLERY: Meet Our Board of Directors
We don’t like to brag, but in this case it is warranted: We have a stellar board of directors. Our board has always been a mix of accomplished, savvy captains and people in the community who understand the value of the Cape’s commercial fisheries. As a longstanding non-profit – we are celebrating our 30th birthday this year – we are involved in many, many projects that are focused on helping fish, small-boat fishermen, and this slice of sand we all call home...
The Key Word
Taking a moment to express what too often gets taken for granted: Gratitude. That starts with this community. You’ve supported us for 30 years, but never more so than in this past stretch. To mix metaphoric locations, Cape Cod’s fishing fleet is not out of the COVID woods yet – truth to tell, fishermen never truly get to some kind of secure, protected, predictable clearing...
Small Boats. Big Ideas. August. 2021
Read the August issue of Small Boats. Big Ideas! Read about Alex Brown and his connection to Provincetown, celebrating our 20th Hookers Ball (and check out the photo gallery) why black mayo in Wellfleet needs a name change, new thoughts on fishermen and seals and more!
Alex Brown's lucky life
Alex Brown stepped out of his house in Provincetown’s West End, passed by homemade long rakes, tongs and shellfish culling boards to settle into a chair kitty corner to a rocker made of lobster pots, which he also makes. He held the book “Men’s Lives: The Surfmen and Baymen of the South Fork,” which details the disappearing way of life of Long Island fishermen...
Cooperative research will help fishermen, seals
In Sweden, fishermen, regulators, and environmental organizations work with government funding dedicated to developing fishing gear that is safe for seals. In the United States, that doesn’t happen. There is a section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that provides fishermen with opportunity to deter seals, but to avoid penalties they are supposed to abide by a list of recommendations produced by National Marine Fisheries Service...
Hookers Ball 20th brings laughter, renewed support
John Pappalardo looked out at a sea of smiling people who had just finished a traditional Cape Cod clambake, put together by Backside Bakes, under a white tent beside the historic Captain Harding House in Chatham, home of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. Quite a difference from when the nonprofit’s biggest fundraiser got started 20 years ago in a 10-by-10 tent pitched in a private yard, with lobster rolls and a couple of cases of beer...
History says don’t call it ‘mayonnaise,’ use ‘custard’
“Black mayonnaise” is an evocative phrase used around harbors to describe a muck that builds in shallow waters, a thick carpet of ooze that smothers life and creates dead bottom where we’d all rather see sand, eel grass, and creatures with shells and little fins. But a good look at the history and meaning of the term suggests we’re not using it as we should...
PHOTO GALLERY: Hookers Ball, Letting the Good Tides Roll
Hookers Ball has always been about celebrating the fishing industry and the community that supports it. Although the event has looked a little different the past two years, the celebratory atmosphere and acknowledgement of the value of commercial fishing hasn’t changed. The pandemic prompted a smaller event this year, hopefully next year we will be back under the big white tent at the VFW...
A big, broad idea to get past “silos”
Bear with me – forgive me might be the better way to put it – as I invoke yet one more acronym that has become increasingly important as we try to work our way through the maze known as United States fisheries management, keep our fleet on the water, and respond to big changes like global warming: EBFM. Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management...
Small Boats. Big Ideas. July 2021
Read the July issue of Small Boats. Big Ideas! Read about Peter Cole's life in the industry - from fisherman to bait supplier, the ins and outs of a bottom trawl survey, Jamie Bassett's portraits of fishermen from young to old, our new cookbook and more!
