The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust believes that fish – and fun – should be had by everyone.
That ideal was on display as Meet the Fleet returned to Menemsha Thursday and Dutcher Dock overflowed with curious visitors vying for a closer look at the vessels that help feed an Island of seafood lovers.
The event’s itinerary included crab races and fish printing for children, a series of competitions that highlighted the skills needed to be a fisherman, and live music played from the deck of a lobster boat. Rose Guerin, The Philly Project and Dock Dance Band provided music for the afternoon.
Shelley Edmundson, the executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, called Meet the Fleet “a chance for the public to meet the person behind the fish.”
She said that the board of the trustees has tried many different fundraising techniques, but Meet the Fleet has always been the most popular.
“It has a little bit of everything,” she said. “It’s a working waterfront celebration.”
Robin Galeaz of New Hampshire echoed Ms. Edmundson’s sentiment. She and her family try to visit Meet the Fleet every summer on their two-week vacation to Chilmark.
“It’s cool to know where our food is coming from and make a connection with the fishermen,” Ms. Galeaz said.
Education is a large component of the event. Bret Stearns ,with the Aquinnah Wampanoag Natural Resources Department ,manned a table with information on the organization's herring monitoring program, environmental laboratory and public safety initiatives.
A few feet further down the dock, a group of children played with a tank of crabs, catching them with nets and releasing them into the harbor.
The early afternoon included a line splicing contest and a swimming race for fishermen in their immersion suits. But the main event that led the crowds from Dutcher Dock to Menemsha Beach was the U.S. Coast Guard’s helicopter rescue demonstration.
Onlookers filled the beach as a member of the Coast Guard jumped from a helicopter into the water. A rescuer then proceeded to lower himself down a rope until he reached the castaway, pulling him up the rope to safety.
Immediately following the helicopter rescue demo, fishermen competed in a net mending contest. Winner Aaron Williams blew his competition out of the water.
“These other guys need to tear their nets more often,” Mr. Williams joked.
“There’s not a lot of places in the world where you can watch this kind of thing because there’s not a lot of places left that teach this kind of thing. That’s kind of the whole point of today, celebrating our fishing communities,” the announcer remarked after Mr. Williams’s victory.
All proceeds from Meet the Fleet go to the Martha’s Vineyard Fisherman’s Preservation Trust, which supports small-boat, owner-operated fishing fleets on the Island through the use of a permit bank and the operation of the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative as well as the Community Supported Fishery share program.
The Martha’s Vineyard Fisherman’s Preservation Trust also operates a seafood donation program that provides Islanders facing food insecurity with locally caught seafood while reducing food waste.
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