The state department of Fishers, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement announced yesterday that it has taken ownership of the Leland beach - 100 acres of virtually unspoiled barrier beach stretching from Wasque to the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick.
Purchase price is just under $1 million; the beach, which has been owned by the family of the late Oliver and Edmund Leland since 1907, was purchased through land-taking measures under the state’s eminent domain laws.
As the hard-hit Massachusetts fishing industry works to get back on its feet from the pandemic, the state Division of Marine Fisheries announced last week the release of another $23.8 million in CARES act money to assist with recovery efforts.
State fishing regulators overwhelmingly approved a first-of-its-kind seasonal lobstering ban to protect the North Atlantic right whale on Thursday — but exempted Vineyard.
With the North Atlantic right whale population at a dangerously low ebb, the state Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing a statewide seasonal ban on lobstering.
After a slow start to the summer, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has proposed extensions to the commercial striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder seasons, hoping to add additional fishing days and adjust catch limits for fishermen as fall approaches.
In a last minute effort, the Governor of Massachusetts yesterday intervened in a successful effort to convince the state marine fisheries commission to remain conservative in adopting striped bass management for the coming season.
In a three hour meeting, held in Weston, state officials after lengthy discussion adopted a uniform 34-inch minimum size for the catching of striped bass for both recreational and commercial fishermen. This represents a drop in two inches from last year's minimum.
On Thursday, officials from the state Division of Marine Fisheries division traveled to the Vineyard to hold a public hearing and announced that the regulations to the recreational fisheries were essentially set in stone.
Martha’s Vineyard commercial fishermen let the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries know what they think of proposed rule updates and new regulations that would affect the Island fishing industry.
A state-ordered shellfish closure due to toxic algae blooms was extended to Martha’s Vineyard late Sunday. All Island ponds and harbors are closed to shellfishing — except for bay scalloping.
Aiming for more uniform management of striped bass fisheries along the Atlantic coast, the state Division of Marine Fisheries will not seek an alternative to new regulations approved last year by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
