Excitement is brewing ahead of the 79th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. There are credible reports that the bait fish are in abundance; albies and bonito are jumping and are here early, which only means good things.
But there is also a pall over this year that is tempering the excitement for some ahead of when the bell tolls on early Sunday morning. There’s a worry that fewer fishermen may be traveling to the Island for the annual tournament now and into the future because of a number of factors. While registration is so far going strong for this year, some Derby officials and shop owners say that the combination of the high cost of traveling and staying on the Island and the inconsistency of Steamship Authority ferries are problematic. But maybe most significant for fishermen is the unknowns of beach access on Chappaquiddick.
“In the short term, everything should be fine, but there’s a cumulative effect,” said Peter Sliwkowski, owner of Larry’s Tackle Shop in Edgartown, where the busiest month of the year is September during the Derby. “If there’s no access on Chappy, just imagine the ramifications. Especially for the Derby, the ramifications would be extremely significant.”
Sliwkowski is the president of the MV Beachgoers Access Group, a group that has advocated for access on Chappy. Fewer fishermen at the Derby would be a hit to his business.
The tackle shop owner said that the concern over access on Chappy was brewing in the spring when many typically make plans to travel to the Island for the Derby. At that time, there was still a lot of uncertainty that some distance stretches of Chappy would actually be open to vehicles, Sliwkowski said, which is key for some fishermen. An ongoing dispute that has been told in these pages between beach access advocates and some private landowners on Cape Poge has continued on multiple fronts, including an appeal at the state level and an issue with unaccounted-for permit.
While a lawsuit is ongoing and state officials are still reviewing a decision, there will be the same access to Chappy this September and October as last year’s Derby, which has been limited compared to prior years.
Phil Horton, chairman of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby Committee, shares that long-term concern with Sliwkoski, but he noted that the number of registrations so far are looking promising this year. On Tuesday, he said that there have been about 1,100 registrations made so far. While that’s far fewer than the roughly 3,000 from last year, he said that there is always a scramble on the weekend the Derby begins, evidenced by the packed parking lots at tackle shops where fishermen can register.
“We’re happy. Registration numbers are really strong,” Horton said. “Overall, we’re feeling confident.”
But the Derby chairman does share the concern for the future and has seen that some fishermen he knows have stopped coming. He’s less concerned about Steamship reliability, but the other two factors are concerning.
“People that I’ve fished with for many years don’t come for any of those reasons, mostly because of the expense and ‘am I going to be able to fish the places I love to fish?’” Horton said. Chappy, he noted, is a place where he and many others learned to fish and is a significant piece of the Derby.
Still, he notes that Chappy is open for access the same amount that it was last year. Cape Pogue up to the town jetty on East Beach is open and Wasque is open, though driving to Wasque is closed.
While concerns of beach access are present, there is still a lot to be excited about for this year’s Derby. President of the Derby John Custer announced that the scholarship program has surpassed $1 million going to students since the program started in 1987. This year was a single-year record high: $100,000 in scholarships was distributed to 10 Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduates.
“I consider these to be the true grand prizes of the Derby, awarded at Class Night in June,” Custer wrote in his president’s message online.
Also this year, the Derby committee voted to bring back daily awards for albies for the first time in nearly 25 years.
And, perhaps most important for many of the fishermen, it’ll be a time to reunite with old friends and enjoy the best of what the Vineyard has to offer.
