Three years have passed since the publication of the book, The Mortal Sea, but its impact continues. The 378-page history of the dramatic decline of fish in the western Atlantic took 10 years of investigative work to write.
A moratorium on the taking of river herring, instituted three years ago because of dwindling stocks, appears set to be extended for another three years.
A decision will not be announced until next Friday, but a public hearing attended by Vineyard fishermen last week made it clear the fishery was still far from recovered.
Paul Diodati, the director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said there had been some improvement in stocks, but populations were still low.
Saving the sea from overfishing begins with paying attention to the forage fish. Tomorrow afternoon at 5:30, the author of an important environmental story will speak at the Chilmark Public Library as part of an ongoing series on fisheries and fishermen.
Author Bruce Franklin will give a free talk on the value of menhaden in America. Last year his book The Most Important Fish in the Sea was published and received high praise along the waterfront and amid fisheries managers along the coast.
Weakfish, also known as squeteague, were once common in this region, so popular a sport fish that up until 1987, they were part of the annual fall Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Then they disappeared from these waters. They were removed from the derby after not one was caught in 1987.
