An Island fishing vessel captained by Wes Brighton carried about 800 pounds of fluke that was headed into Menemsha Thursday last week with plans to sell the abundance of fish to an Island wholesaler. But when a mechanical failure with a truck prevented the exchange of the fish, and with the threat of losing out on a solid catch, the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust swept in to prepare the contents for donation.
Shelley Edmundson, the executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, said the trust bought the whole load from Brighton with the help of local grants, and is donating the fluke to Island groups working to help the food-insecure.
But what to do with a huge load suddenly showing up in your port? “Eight hundred pounds is a lot of fish to process in our little operation,” Edmundson said.
Luckily, the trust was able to get a few more hands to help out, and inside its small Menemsha shack on Thursday, eight fishermen in total were able to fillet the fluke for donation.
While some Island pantries accepted the whole fish — like Kinship Heals and the Boys and Girls Club — they needed to fillet and bag a load that was going to Island Grown Initiative (IGI).
“We were able to process all of that, because the crew of the boat, and the captain and his mate, helped us fillet it all,” said Edmundson. “Through the rallied support of the boat crew, our staff, and other community members, we were able to fillet all the fish in a little over six hours.”
Brighton said he and his crew are appreciative of the collaboration that got the fish distributed in the end. “Our Island fish markets and wholesalers work ardently,” he said. “They take serious financial risk in a competitive market.”
Thanks to local grants that support their seafood donations — the M.V. Community Foundation, West Chop Community Fund, and Slough Farm — the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust has been able to act as a sort of safety net for these fishermen, as the buying and selling of large quantities of fish can be unpredictable, Edmundson said.
“Having generous grants and donors made it possible for us to react in a timely way, so none of this fish was wasted,” said Edmundson. The grants enable fish that can’t be sold to still be bought for processing and donation, which minimizes waste.
But it wasn’t just the 800 pounds from the Martha Rose vessel that ended up going to help feed the Island.
“Maybe two hours or so after we said yes to the 800 pounds of fluke, I got a call from one of the Massachusetts Environmental Police captains,” Edmundson said. The message: They received about 1,100 pounds of confiscated haddock from a boat in Bedford, and inquired about having that processed for donation, as well.
Edmundson and her team accepted.
And then, as the team accepted the 1,100 pounds of haddock, they were informed of another 2,000 pounds of the undersize fish coming their way, that was unable to be sold.
Edmundson said all of the fish will be distributed to donation groups over the coming weeks. Her team was able to send the haddock to be processed at Ocean C Star, a New Bedford–based seafood dealer, and one of the trust’s partners, before it was distributed for donation.
“Being flexible and ready to act is essential in the fishing world,” she said. “And we are grateful to be able to do both.”
Stories like this are what make the island special. Well done to those involved !!!
Such a Happy Ending(s) story. But unmentioned in the Times coverage is the technology that allows that much fish to be quickly absorbed into the distribution chain and stored until needed: flash freezing close to point of catch. Frozen fish was long something to turn up your nose about. Not anymore. When fish is flash frozen close to point of catch, it can be stored for a long time and still get to consumers in way better shape than through traditional distribution methods which have fish trucked around – often for days – before hitting the display case at local fish mongers as so called “fresh” fish. The Fisherman’s Preservation Trust acquired flash freezing apparatus last year through a grant from Martha’s Vineyard Bank.
From the crew of the fishing vessel Martha Rose we are so appreciative for the fishermen’s collaborative and the mv fishermens trust effort in helping us move and distribute our fish. We also want to be sure it’s clearly understood that our island fish markets and wholesalers work ardently to serve as a fresh outlet for our locally caught fish daily. They take on serious financial risk in a competitive market and are required to have capital intensive infrastructure to function. These challenges are greatly magnified on an island in all forms of the supply chain from the fishermen, Fishhouses, and even restaurants. In this case it was a mechanical failure on a truck that made it impossible to move the fish. Thanks to Will diamond and Shelley Edmundson we were able to distribute the fish but I also want to thank our wholesalers and fish markets because they work tirelessly to bring the consumer the best freshest local fish everyday and without them we as fishermen could not operate from our island.
This is why I make a monthly donation to the M.V. Fisherman’s Preservation Trust, and purchase a monthly fish share. Seafood is a precious commodity, and the good work that they do to preserve the catch and distribute it to those that can really benefit from the nutritional and delicious catch is forward thinking and good for all, fishermen and consumers.
Thank you!
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