Mark Alan Lovewell
There is always tough competition at the The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby which these days attracts close to 3,000 fishermen. But amidst the awards and bragging rights there is also a tradition of generosity.
As the bay scallop season begins, reports and forecasts are in from the five Island towns that have a fishery. And if the predictions from shellfish biologists are accurate, scalloping in Edgartown, Chilmark and Aquinnah will be solid this year, while Oak Bluffs and Tisbury may be a step off from last year.
The brightest planet in our sky, Venus is a beautiful sight early in the morning. The planet was visible last weekend over Edgartown harbor. It was so brilliant, it looked like an airplane approaching with landing lights from the east. With the Edgartown Lighthouse flashing red and the Cape Pogue lighthouse flashing white, Venus easily outshined them both.
The Vineyard had a bumper crop of hatchery-raised shellfish this year. The Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, which provides shellfish to all Island towns, produced nearly double the number of quahaugs and oysters. The bay scallop crop was also good, although not as good as last year.
This holiday weekend is the last full weekend for those competing in the 67th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Anglers will see the sunsets and note the sunrises, and quite a few will fish through the full three-day weekend, hoping to catch the largest striped bass, bluefish, bonito and false albacore.
Nearly 2,800 fishermen are registered in the contest. Of those, 300 are junior anglers.
There are many moving parts to Tristan Israel. For 23 years he has served as a selectman for the town of Tisbury. For seven years he has worked as a county commissioner. He is a landscaper by trade and in the Vineyard music community, he is a nearly constant presence.
At seven o’clock this Sunday evening, Oct. 7, Mr. Israel will have a release party at the Pit Stop in Oak Bluffs for his new CD, The Sound After the Flash. The CD includes numerous contributions from Paul Thurlow and violinist Nancy Jephcote.