To the Editor:
For 81 years, the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby has celebrated the Island’s fishing traditions, and brought families, friends, and neighbors together on its shores. The Derby is far more than a fishing contest. It is an annual five-week opportunity for participants to renew long-standing friendships, create new relationships, and enjoy the beauty of the Vineyard.
At the conclusion of the 81st Derby, the Derby committee expresses its deep disappointment and concern over the recent injunction issued by Massachusetts Land Court in a lawsuit brought by the Colantonio family, private landowners on Cape Poge, against the Trustees of Reservations.
The injunction took effect midway through this year’s Derby. It ended public oversand vehicle access to approximately 2.6 miles of Chappaquiddick shoreline, including some of the Island’s most productive and cherished fishing beaches, which our participants have enjoyed for generations.
These beaches have long been part of the Derby. They are where first fish and Derby winners were caught, where experiences and wisdom were passed from parent to child, and where many of the tournament’s best stories began. This year, in the middle of the very event that honors those traditions, anglers were suddenly shut out. The 81st Derby and its participants were harmed by this closure. Now that the 81st Derby has concluded, we’d say that harm was irreparable.
Our greater concern is the future. As legal proceedings continue, these beaches could remain closed to Derby participants and the fishing community forever.
The Derby has always supported conservation, responsible stewardship, and respect for private property. But public access is meaningless if the public cannot actually reach the beaches. For remote shorelines like Chappaquiddick and Norton Point, oversand vehicle access is not a luxury or a convenience. It is essential to keeping these historic fishing grounds accessible to generations of fishermen, especially our older and less mobile participants. What is being lost is far more than 2.6 miles of shoreline. It is generations of fishing traditions, opportunities, and memories.
We hope a path forward can be found that respects everyone involved and restores responsible public access to these historic fishing grounds. Fishing seasons come and go, but the traditions built along our shoreline should endure. Future Derby participants deserve the same opportunities as those who came before them.
The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby Committee
