Living off the sea

For Wampanoag scallopers, connecting with the water is a vital cultural practice.

0

Bay scallops are facing a huge challenge in Menemsha Pond. Speaking about the state of the pond’s shellfish fishing industry with Juli Vanderhoop — Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head elder, Aquinnah select board member, shell fisherman, and business owner — was sobering.

Vanderhoop shares, “As a child, I remember many people of this community scalloping for their winter income. Forty years ago, the largest fleet on the water was about 26 boats fishing Menemsha Pond. But for the last 10 years, I’ve seen it dwindle from a 16-boat fleet to being cut in half, and then in half again. Then it went down to two boats, and now nothing this year. My brothers Brian and Buddy are both charter captains in the summertime, but they are an invested scallop team. They both have boats that are usually out there working the pond five days a week. Neither of them has been out there this year. We’ve taken a huge hit.”

Vanderhoop describes how brutal it already was five years ago, which was the last time she went scalloping. There were two people and, with a limit of two bushels apiece, she remembers, “It was taking a long time to get one bushel. For four bushels it took about six hours. Each drag, which is brought up every 15 minutes or so, can weigh anywhere from 100 to 300 pounds apiece. If you’re out there for six hours, that’s 4,800 pounds on the captain, who is usually the one dumping the scallops out.”

What the fishermen are bringing up these days is lots of codium — an invasive species of macroalgae that grows heavily at the bottom of the pond, which prevents the bay scallops from thriving. Vanderhoop explains, “Menemsha Pond is struggling due to the invasive grass. What seems to be happening is that the more you break those grasses off, the more the pieces re-embed themselves and come in stronger. Our scallop industry, which used to bring in for the town anywhere between $400,000 to $700,000 per season, has gone down to basically nothing. What it has done to the community of fishermen is incredible. That’s one heck of a blow. It adds up for every family, tens of thousands of dollars, whether you’re cutting the scallops or selling them to the wholesalers.”

In an effort to help rid the pond of the codium, Vanderhoop shares that the town is paying a stipend: “But not very much, compared to the price of bay scallops. Where it once was a half-a-million-dollar industry for the town, currently it’s not even making $10,000 from our fishing.”

There is encouraging news, though. Bret Stearns, indirect services administrator at the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head’s natural resources department, says they have been involved in growing bay scallops over a long period of time. “When the hatchery was running, we used to raise and release them. Now we participate much as the town does. We buy seed and raise it throughout the summer, and then release it,” he explains. They also catch, cultivate, and release wild seeds from the pond.

In addition, Stearns speaks of their environmental efforts: “We work with the town of Aquinnah to section off an acre of the bottom each year, rotationally. During the summer months we really actively manage predator traps for green crabs and other invasives.” They likewise work on restoring the eelgrass habitat into which they then release the seeds. “Eelgrass is exactly what you need. It grows from the pond bottom, and is what the larvae and juveniles attach to.” Without the eelgrass, they will circulate and go out to the ocean. They already have plans to plant more of it to enlarge the “meadow.” The department also partners with other organizations, and has upcoming plans with the Army Corps of Engineers on additional environmental restoration. They are, likewise, working with the fishermen in trying to get rid of the codium. He says, “There is only one answer, which is you have to dredge it out and get rid of it. It’s absolutely the right approach.”

Stearns reflects on the current situation: “This year has been exceptionally low. We’ve been putting out the same amount, but there are a lot of factors. There’s predation, and Menemsha is such a tidal pond. Shellfish can get evacuated just by the tide circulating outward.” He goes on to explain, “The problem with scallops is their short lifespan. You can tell if there’s pressure immediately, because it’s only a year and a half later that you’re looking for an adult. In a fishery, it can be a three-year cycle to when they become adults. And when you have less available, there’s less to spawn, so you can get hit really quickly.”

Stearns believes there is hope: “We’re out there year-round, and have been for 25 years, monitoring water quality and environmental research, and are an active part of the restoration process. The good news is that the pond has the capability and the elements that it takes to rebound. It’s a matter of everybody working together. Thankfully, it is a place that has the capability to respond well.”