The 23rd Annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament attracted quite a crowd Saturday, the only day most of the boats dared go out. Friday was pretty much a wash-out due to high winds and very big waves.
Spectators lined the Oak Bluffs Harbor bulkhead Saturday to watch "monster" sharks brought to the dock. Photo by M.C. Wallo
The weigh-in attracted hundreds of people of all ages who lined up along the bulkhead and floated in dinghies to catch a glimpse of a large shark being hauled up. There is no question that Americans do love a good spectacle.
Steve James, president of the Boston Big Game Club, organizer of the event, told me that 130 boats entered the tournament and they brought a total of 14 sharks to the dock to be weighed in.
How did the tournament go? "Good, considering the weather conditions on Friday," Steve said. "Hundreds and hundreds of spectators showed up to watch the monster shark tournament weigh station activities."
A mako shark is hauled up from the fishing boat Foolish.
The first place captain and boat was John Anderson, Karen Jean II, out of Marshfield, with a 361-pound Porbeagle.
Sam Dougherty on board Billfish out of Stratford, Conn., won the top junior angler award (18 sharks released). The female angler award went to Laura Jenkins on board Ripple out of Cataumet (9 sharks released). Wes Gregory onboard Gotta Do from Webster, N.Y., caught the largest thresher (320 pounds). Calvin Perry onboard the Dilli Gaf from East Falmouth caught the largest mako (259 pounds). The release award went to Peter Brancaleone on Volatility out of Elmont, N.Y. (44 releases). John Pantano on Stormy Weather from Quincy won the tag award.
Lagoon Pond boat launch parking crunch
The Lagoon Pond launch ramp is the largest and most convenient public boat ramp on the Island. The Office of Fishing and Boating Access (OFBA), a department within the Division of Fisheries and Game, built the ramp and dock.
OFBA is one of the most effective departments in state government. Much of the funding for its projects come from taxes and license fees collected from sportsmen, and over the years Islanders have benefitted greatly from the willingness of department director Jack Sheppard to support a variety of Vineyard projects.
An excited Peter Burke, 7, of Vineyard Haven holds up his first bluefish. Peter and his dad Jonathan hooked the fish while trolling a plug off Hedge Fence from their small sailboat. Photo by Jonathan Burke
Saturday the wind lay down, and rumors of bonito floated around the Island. As would be expected, many boaters wanted to get out on the water.
Unfortunately, for anyone hoping to launch a boat at the Lagoon Pond ramp, by late Saturday morning there were no open parking spaces for a vehicle and trailer.
I counted five spaces occupied by boats and or trailers that had been sitting at the launch ramp for many days taking up space.
These included an 18-foot Privateer on a trailer with a for sale sign on it, a 20-foot Load Rite trailer with no registration plate that appeared to be abandoned and a Tisbury shellfish department boat with a four-stroke engine sitting on a trailer with a flat tire.
Monday I spoke to Tisbury shellfish constable Derek Cimeno. He said it was convenient to have a department boat on the Lagoon, but he had not had a place to keep it where it would be out of the way. Derek said he planned to move the boat this week to the shellfish group dock and free up the space.
Derek said he was aware of the space crunch and he and his assistants had been doing their best to maintain some order when things got out of hand. That included advising folks on the same boat but who arrived in separate vehicles to double park.
In a telephone conversation Tuesday Environmental Police Sergeant Matt Bass said he would pick up where his predecessor Sergeant Pat Grady left off. Sergeant Grady frequently tracked down the owners of boats and trailers left in the parking lot for an excessive amount of time and reminded then they could not use the parking lot for storage space.
The rules are pretty clear and spelled out on a sign posted in the parking lot. The parking area may not be used "for a purpose other than the parking of vehicles used to launch and retrieve watercraft in conjunction with the intended use of the public access facility."
A boat or trailer may not be left in the lot for more than 18 hours, and a boat may not be left at the dock for more than 30 minutes.
Needless to say there are times when people need some slack. Boat problems, car problems, and spouse problems come to mind.
But public access to the water is one of those rights that require some degree of public responsibility and consideration. When people do not play by the rules it creates problems for everybody.
Speaking of sharks
Ned Casey was fishing off the Brickyard last week when a guy fishing out of a 13-foot Boston Whaler began yelling and screaming excitedly about a shark.
Ned was able to capture a brief video clip of the shark. Greg Skomal, Division of Marine Fisheries biologist and shark expert, said the video clip was not long enough to allow for a positive identification. The large shark is either a basking shark (harmless) or a great white (not so harmless). "It is inconclusive," Greg said. "We needed about two more seconds."
Squid boat nabbed
A fleet of fishing boats south of Chilmark generated a lot of curiosity. The boats were all fishing for squid but not all of the captains were playing by the rules.
Alerted to the presence of the boats, Environmental Police Sergeant Matt Bass hooked a ride with the Coast Guard onboard a Jayhawk helicopter.
The flyover inspection turned up a Rhode Island fishing boat squid fishing inside Massachusetts's three-mile limit. The captain did not have a state coastal access permit and he was using an improper net mesh, Sergeant Bass said.
The boat left quickly, but did not escape the long arm of Mr. Bass who contacted Rhode Island environmental police.
Anthony Faciano of Wakefield, R.I., received a summons to appear in Edgartown District Court in connection with the fisheries rules violations.
Lost tackle bag
Bob Garrison left a tackle bag full of plugs in the Dogfish bar parking lot Saturday. He would love to hear from the person who found it. He can be reached at 804-852-1139.
DMF public hearing scheduled
Island fishermen are very good at grousing and complaining about fishing regulations when they are in a tackle shop, standing on a dock, or in the local coffee shop. Unfortunately, many fishermen are not very good about making their point of view known when it matters, at formal public hearings designed to solicit opinion about proposed regulatory changes.
The Division of Marine Fisheries has scheduled a public hearing at 4 pm Monday, August 24, in the Tisbury Senior Center. A number of agenda items directly affect Island fishermen.
DMF will hear comment on rules affecting commercial lobster gear; coastal shark regulations that include establishing recreational and commercial minimum size limits, possession limits, and gear restrictions, prohibiting possession of some species, and establishing additional standards for disposition of commercial and recreational catch; and rules that would increase the minimum size (from 4 1/8 inches to 5 inches) and decrease the daily possession limit (from 50 to 25) for recreational and commercial harvest of blue crabs.
DMF will also clarify that the prohibition on use of gillnets south and west of Cape Cod from April 1 through November 15 does not apply to persons using surface gillnets less than 250-square feet to take bait for personal use in the Inshore Restricted Waters.
It is always a good idea to take the time to understand the regulations and put your comments in writing. The public hearings are also not the place to air a laundry list of grievances. However, the DMF folks are generally more than willing to speak to fishermen before or after the formal time hearing period.
Spectators lined the Oak Bluffs Harbor bulkhead Saturday to watch "monster" sharks brought to the dock. Photo by M.C. Wallo
A mako shark is hauled up from the fishing boat Foolish.
An excited Peter Burke, 7, of Vineyard Haven holds up his first bluefish. Peter and his dad Jonathan hooked the fish while trolling a plug off Hedge Fence from their small sailboat. Photo by Jonathan Burke
