Tag Archives: Menemsha
Conch is Big Business but Still a Mystery
On a blustery November day, in choppy waters somewhere off the western shore of the Island, Capt. Otto Osmers winched in his first conch pot of the day. It was a disappointing haul: only one conch was a keeper. “They’re such a weird animal,” said Mr. Osmers. “You’d think that, since they’re just a snail, they’d be easier to figure out.” At 22, Mr. Osmers is one of the youngest captains on Island, having saved up his teenage shellfishing earnings to purchase his uncle Tom Osmers’s old boat, A. D. Thor. When the weather is good during the active spring and fall conch season, he might spend all day on the water, pulling up conch pots, sorting out catches and refilling the mesh bait bags with chunks of horseshoe crab and herring. >click to read< 15:47
No injuries in two boat collision
On Friday, the Tomahawk, a charter fishing vessel out of Menemsha, collided with the F/V Gloria Jean, a Fairhaven fishing vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard deployed a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod and surface vessels from Station Menemsha to assist the vessels. The Chilmark Harbormaster’s Department also responded. Petty Officer Briana Carter, a Coast Guard spokesperson, told The Times both vessels were brought back into port with, “No flooding on either vessel.” Carter also said no injuries were reported. “Don’t know if any charges will or will not be made,” she said. >10 Photos, click to read< 21:00
Menemsha Fish House Closes Up Shop
Menemsha Fish House, one of the Island’s largest wholesale seafood distributors has been shut down by its parent company, the owners confirmed Monday, as the pandemic continues to churn up rough waters for Vineyard fishermen and decimate the region’s seafood industry. But with the season ending, former operator Peter Lambos and Red’s Best owner Jared Auerbach said the economics of the wholesale market became impossible, forcing Red’s Best to officially close the business at the beginning of October. >click to read< 13:00
The F/V Martha Rose: her catch, crew, and mission – As Fresh as it Gets
Three times a week, the Martha Rose sets out of Menemsha’s cozy harbor and, engine roaring, begins the 14-hour journey to the local scalloping beds. In weather fair or foul, the 77-foot fishing vessel chugs out of Menemsha Bight, rounds the nose of Aquinnah, and then charts a steady course to the southeast. The sea scallop beds currently designated as fishable lie one hundred miles out, and some thirty or forty fathoms down. Once the Martha Rose arrives, her crew of three waste no time putting out the ship’s dredge and preparing the deck to bring in the first haul. photos, >click to read< 09:26
Have Faith: A fisherman’s journey of deep belief
Stanley Larsen’s fishing boat, Four Kids, pulled up to the dock in Menemsha a little after 10 am last Thursday, under a bright blue sky. Stanley steers it so it eases up next to its sister vessel, Richard & Arnold.,, Stanley was born and raised here, and has been a fisherman since childhood; he helped his dad lobstering from the time he was a kid. His father died when Stanley was in his early 20s, and then he carried on the family tradition, going out on long trips, steaming six, eight, even 10 hours at a time in his dad’s old boat: “I’d head down to Nantucket, out to New Bedford, south of the Island. I’d have fishing magazines that I’d probably read about 10 times, and I happened to be going through [his dad’s] drawer one day, and came upon the King James Bible. I just started reading it.” >click to read< 17:06
Fishing vessel crashes into Menemsha commercial wharf
The scalloper Martha Rose allided with the commercial wharf in Menemsha at roughly 6 am Saturday morning. The impact smashed a section of plank and rail along the wharf and left a piling akilter. Chilmark Harbormaster Ryan Rossi said the vessel suffered a mechanical failure in the middle of the harbor which triggered the allision. “Good thing is nobody was hurt,” Rossi said. The Martha Rose also clipped the fishing vessel Miss Jenna during the incident. Rossi described the damage to both vessels as “cosmetic.” >click to read< 16:20
Menemsha goes old school on a Saturday morning. 500 pounds of scallops sell in two hours off F/V Martha Rose
Wes Brighton’s 77-foot scalloper, Martha Rose, is bringing sea scallops to its home port of Menemsha in a new way — straight off the boat with no intermediary. Saturday morning the vessel sold 500 pounds of scallops in two hours. Brighton had intended to offer scallops from 9 am to 1 pm but by 11 am, his hold was empty. The scallops were sold at $18 per one pound bag or $75 for a five pound box. Check, Venmo, or cash was accepted. >click to read< 07:00
Once Robust, Bluefin Tuna Fishery Is In Economic Freefall
Carl Coppenrath can remember the days when it seemed bluefin tuna fishermen could walk on water. In the heyday of the 1980s, the market was so flush in Menemsha that fishermen could literally walk across a harbor packed with a fleet of commercial vessels lined up at the end of the day to sell their catch for top dollar. The mystique and allure of catching the torpedo-shaped fish that can weigh over 1,400 pounds brought glory and the prospects of such wealth that it awoke the romantic reimagination of the old whaling days of the Island. So much so that it spawned the popular cable TV series Wicked Tuna and lit up social media with photos and boastful tales of the trophy fish. “It’s like an addiction . . . >click to read< 21:29
Stanley Larsen – By Birth and by Choice, a Lifetime at Sea
At 4:30 a.m. Menemsha Harbor is glassy and the only sounds are the hum of Menemsha Fish House’s vibrating refrigerators and the early-morning summer bird opera. The Little Lady slices through the flat water, heading out for a morning of dragging. Stanley Larsen in his boat Four Kids is not far behind. He just has to sort out a few things with the engine first.,,, It’s a late start. Stanley usually likes to get going at around 3:30 a.m. “Then I can go further offshore and do longer drags,” he explains adjusting his baseball cap. “I like a two-hour drag. Closer, I can only do 20 or 30 minutes and then I’m in the mud.” >click to read< 19:50
Hershel West of Menemsha died peacefully in his sleep at age 94
Hershel was born on March 1, 1924, to his parents Norman and Annie West at his grandmother’s house on Middle Road, close to the West Tisbury–Chilmark town line. As a boy, he delivered mail with his father to Naushon and Nomans islands. He spent most of his life commercial fishing. Besides scalloping, oystering, and lobstering on the Island, he crewed on draggers out of New Bedford. For many years, he crewed aboard the Menemsha swordfish boats owned by the Larsens. . He was well known for his role in the movie “Jaws” as Quint’s mate, along with his beloved dog Tipper. >click to read<21:35
Gregory Mayhew has passed away
Gregory Mayhew, 72, died peacefully at his home in West Tisbury on Wednesday evening, April 11, enveloped by the love of his family. Greg battled chronic illness for many years, although this was rarely apparent, due to his ready smile and upbeat nature. Gregory was born Sept. 19, 1945, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. He was the third of Benjamin C. Mayhew Jr. and Eileen (Sullivan) Mayhew’s five children.,, Fishing was in Greg’s blood from birth, and was a family affair. >click to read<16:30
Getting to Know the Fishermen Behind the Boats at Meet the Fleet
Most of the time the Menemsha dock is a quiet place, Captain Wes Brighton said. Fishermen come and go, unloading their catch and setting up to set sail. But on Thursday evening, the dock was bustling with people chatting with fishermen, learning how to fillet, racing crabs and slurping down oysters during the second annual Meet the Fleet. Organized by the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, Meet the Fleet was created to draw attention to the Vineyard’s fishing industry and raise money for the organization. Funds go to help start a permit bank, create loans for new fishermen, and change restrictive legislation. This year’s event was in honor of Luke Gurney, a commercial conch fisherman who was swept overboard in June and died. John Keene, the president of the Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, said the absence of Mr. Gurney’s boat, No Regrets, was a noticeable difference this year. Read the story here 09:16
