Sports
Vineyard commercial fishermen scored a key win in the struggle keep them from being squeezed out of the groundfish industry yesterday when the New England Fishery Management Council voted to adopt the sector system, granting the Vineyard its own sector.
The vote came after three days of meeting in Portland, Me. The meeting was attended by a small group of Vineyard fishing activists.
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Fishing boats are back out in Vineyard Sound, after what has been a long stretch of really bad weather, not just on the land, on the water.
The Menemsha fleet returned to fishing for fluke on Wednesday, after being kept shoreside since last weekend because of the wind.
“I haven’t fished for three days,” said Capt. Craig Coutinho of the Menemsha dragger Viking on Tuesday night. “The fluke fishing was going pretty good, before we got this.”
A handwritten sign sat next to the cash register at Craig’s Bicycles: “Health Care Organizing Kickoff . . . Attend a local meeting here!” And so on June 9, a wet Tuesday evening in Vineyard Haven, a small but spirited group of nine people gathered around the spare parts and 12-speeds to debate of the future of health care in America.
There is plenty of evidence already on the waterfront: Vineyard sailors are getting ready for summer.
The Vineyard yet again has several youth soccer teams excelling in the post-season, as the under-12 team heads to league finals, the under 14-team heads to semifinals and the under-16 team has already qualified for the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC).
Despite dismal weather conditions, the sixth annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Martha’s Vineyard raised more than $60,000 for cancer research and patient services in the walk through the night to help raise funds and cancer awareness.