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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
August 11 - 17, 2005 Edition
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Gone
Fishin' Bluefin tuna are as highly prized as game fish as they are for eating. School bluefin weigh less than a hundred pounds and can be taken on spinning tackle. The larger giant bluefin tuna require a boat decked out and ready to tackle a fish that can exceed 500 pounds and battle an angler for hours. At Edgartown Marine on Edgartown Harbor, Bobby Blanchard said he had caught six bluefin over the course of last week in the vicinity of the hooter. Bob said there are tuna "between Gay Head and Newport, Rhode Island."
Rules are quite strict regarding all tuna and are available on the NMFS web site, where fishermen may also purchase a boat permit on line. Fish must be between 27 and 73 inches measured from the nose to the fork of the tail. Any smaller and the fish must be released. Any bigger and it falls into the recreational trophy category which allows a fisherman to keep one fish per season. Steve at Dick's in Oak Bluffs said he had heard of sporadic catches of tuna at the hooter buoy off Wasque and at Hedge Fence off East Chop. The fish were in the 12 to 25 pound range he said. "Most of the guys are catching them when they're bonito fishing," he said. At Larry's in Edgartown, Steve Purcell said there had been reports of bluefin around Skiff's Island, the hooter and even one caught off East Chop. He said people are catching them but not on a regular basis. "I saw one come clear out of the water off the hooter," said Steve, who said that so far this season he had caught and released about 70 bluefin and kept five fish. He said that because tuna are warm-blooded, as soon as a fish is brought on board it is cleaned and iced down and eaten the same day. "It's the best," said Steve. "It is like a ritual. We go out fishing and eat it that night." At Coop's, Cooper Gilkes said fishermen have been having quite a bit of fun. "A lot of people are having a ball with them," said Coop. "they are chewing up a lot of string." Coop said fly-rodders are doing well with menhaden imitations. Boaters be careful Speaking of tuna, bonito have been appearing and disappearing off Menemsha and Edgartown. Fishermen planning to use the Aquinnah launch ramp to get within striking distance of up-Island fish should be very careful when backing a trailer down to launch a boat. Luckily, a few weeks ago I decided to take a look at the ramp before putting my 18-foot Tashmoo in at low tide. The concrete ramp extended into the water and where it ended there was a very deep hole, probably as a result of prop scouring. The pitch of the ramp and shallow water depth presented a tricky situation. I took note of where the ramp ended, backed down to within a few feet of the concrete's end and managed to push my boat off the trailer. Had I gone any further I might have dropped my trailer wheels over the edge, locking it up, so I could not pull it out. I left a message for Brian "Chip" Vanderhoop, Aquinnah harbormaster on Tuesday. I wanted to ask if there are any plans to try and fill the hole. I did not hear back from him, but perhaps he will place a sign on the dock cautioning boaters and marking where the ramp ends. Beach shark tourney The Martha's Vineyard Surfcasters Association held its 2005 Chappy shark tournament. A total of 30 fishermen engaged in some spirited beach chair competition. Joseph Gubitose from Sturbridge captured first honors by beaching and releasing unharmed a 5-foot, 9-inch brown shark estimated to weigh in at 90 pounds, according to an association press release. Entry fees from the two-week competition will be used to support the club's introductory fishing programs for children such as the Boys and Girls Club fishing trips on board the Skipper. The tournament was based on the honor system and encouraged anglers to release sharks unharmed after taking measurements. Feeding frenzy Speaking about sharks, my recent comments about sharks, and the French and European bicyclists irritated two readers who took me to task last week in separate letters to the editor. Defending the French, Andrew Fischer of Chilmark suggested I keep my ignorant views to myself. Defending Tour de France bicyclists, David Whitmon of Oak Bluffs let me know that they are all regular working stiffs and great guys. My wife's aunt took a more gentle approach and sent me an article from the August issue of Smithsonian Magazine about the threat man poses to sharks. Perhaps my view that the Humane Society is advocating censorship when it pressures ESPN not to broadcast a show about the monster shark tournament left her thinking I am a fan of the contest when I am not. A fishing column is not normally a venue for exploring world affairs. But in light of the recent criticism, I decided to seek some international perspectives. On the subject of monster shark fishing I turned to Australia, a country with plenty of experience when it comes to both sides of the shark menu. Steve Cooper, a popular fishing columnist for the Herald Sun in Australia, told me that his country has its share of radical animal rights advocates and wasteful fishermen. "I live in the southern end of the country, Victoria, and the people down this way don't waste sharks," wrote Steve. "We do to them what they would do to us: in other words we eat them." Steve said that shark meat is sold as flake and is the top selling fish in the market. "If you haven't eaten shark, then I suggest you try it," he wrote. Steve said Australians do not kill many sharks these days, unless it is for the table. Steve also told me that PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals), an extremist animal rights group, has been causing a stir in Australia. In addition to its various other causes, PETA has called for a ban on fishing columns in newspapers. "If you like, I could forward these anthromorphists your details as I am sure they would be equally as willing to put you on the cull list along with myself," said Steve. I am sure that is a cause a number of Times readers would be happy to support. To get an unencumbered view of the French, I contacted Ton Kalkman and Rene Sehr, enthusiastic fishermen and annual Island visitors known to regular readers as the Dutch guys. In my e-mail, I described what I had written and asked: "Were you guys insulted? Does anybody like the French besides the French? Provide me with a European point of view for my column. Actually, I do not think of you guys as European, I think of you as the Dutch guys." Displaying more of a sense of humor than some Islanders, Ton wrote back, "Ha ha, insulted by you? If that was so we never come back to MV after the first time we met you ... kidding. "Well to be honest most Dutch people don't see themselves as Europeans. According to the result of the last poll held by the government, for a European constitution, 70 percent of the people voted against this proposal." Regarding the French, Ton, a port controller, wrote, "France is a very popular holiday destination for a lot of Dutch people, so our relation with the French is one of hate and love, we hate them because a lot of them drive like madmen, are arrogant, nationalistic and don't bother to learn any language except their own, but we love them for their beautiful country, great wines and delicious French bread. And because we can't shuffle them all into the Atlantic Ocean, I guess we have to live with them." Kind of like my view of New Jersey, without the bread. He ended, "Thanks for seeing us as ‘the Dutch guys,' I guess that means we're okay? We like you too, just the way you are." Rene provided an insight into the wonderful Dutch character. He wrote, "Well, it's difficult to insult us, because 1. We are Dutch and 2. We already know you for a few years now, so we know about your typical sense of humor, and it's very difficult to defend ourselves against it. But even if you try to fool us, we don't care, because we know you and as long as we can laugh about it, it's OK. "To be serious, we see a lot of people who do not have a sense of humor, and especially the French are very strange people. Although the European politicians do their best to unite all the European countries, they will never reach this goal. A ‘United Europe' is very far away. Why? All the countries do have a long ancient history and they (we) just want to keep that. "The second thing is that we, due to the historical borders and history, all have different kinds of humor due to our different backgrounds. The French, Germans and English have all a complete different sense of humor and cannot understand or appreciate the others. So, on television you constantly see that the English are joking with the French, the Germans with the English, the Dutch with the Belgians, the Swedish people with the Norwegians and vice versa." Rene said one thing irritating about the French is that they are very chauvinistic and refuse to try to learn another language, just like people from New Jersey. Rene urged me, "Just go on with your column and continue with your own specific sense of humor. We like your humor very much and, as we have seen in the past, a lot of other people do appreciate it too." He had one suggestion. "Perhaps you have to add a picture with your unique smile in the column, than they will understand that you are just kidding. We can always see it in your smile when you're up to something, so that's why we always cooperate with you." Nice suggestion, but I do not think I will do that. I am worried I might be recognized by people from New Jersey. |
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