Aquaculture

Project Would Meld Wind Power, Fish Farm

More than 15 years ago, Brian Braginton-Smith of West Yarmouth came forward with an idea to meld wind power and aquaculture in what he envisioned as an “ocean ranch.”

Mr. Braginton-Smith’s proposal was the seed for what became the controversial proposal by Cape Wind Associates to place 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal south of Cape Cod.

The visionary now has separated himself from Cape Wind, saying he is concerned about the impact such a project would have on what he sees as an environmentally fragile fishing ground.

Success of Blue Mussel Project Heartens Fishing Advocates

For Rick Karney, director of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, 2008 is becoming the Year of the Blue Mussel.

In recent weeks, Mr. Karney’s group has received positive news about the prospects of raising blue mussels in local waters.

While the Island group already raises juvenile bay scallops, quahaugs and oysters for participating towns on a regular basis, the organization also is participating in a blue-mussel experiment that could expand aquaculture to the open water.

mussels

Researchers Find Blue Mussels Flourish in Island Experiment

On this November morning, the Menemsha lobster boat Shearwater has made its way three and a half miles south of Noman’s Land.

Noman’s tall cliffs rise above the treacherous rocky waters. Sea birds are adrift in the moving current farther north.

Waves roll from the open ocean and raise and lower the boat in a gentle fashion, like a mother rocking a sleeping child. The sky is blue and metallic; the color of the sea beneath is a darker version of the sky. A gentle cold breeze freshens. The bow points towards Spain.

winter flounder

The Fishermen

Island fish, like Island tourists, come and go with the seasons. Striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, bonito and scup and summer flounder all migrate.

Yet there is one species of fish that once were caught here year-round. Winter flounder stayed in Island waters through the changing seasons.

Next week the Chilmark Public Library is hosting a forum with a top New England authority on the raising of juvenile winter flounder.

Chilmark Sees Shellfish Restoration as Success

As the Chilmark shellfish department wraps up its first summer, efforts at spearheading restoration projects have been successful. Selectman Warren Doty, chairman of the board and liaison to the department, reported a low mortality rate among planted scallops and a very high production rate.

“It has been a very successful season,” he said.

To date, 100,000 scallop seed have been set to grow in an upweller, purchased by the town this spring and located in Menemsha, as well as in spat bags and pearl nets.

Shellfishermen File Application for Offshore Blue Mussel Farm

Several shellfishermen and fishermen are taking a first step on a long road to raise blue mussels for market in Vineyard waters.

Rick Karney, director of the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group, the project's principal investigator, has applied for a state grant to fund half of a $28,730 feasibility project.Blue mussels are a highly prized shellfish. Island consumers buy plenty of them in local fish markets, but nearly all the mussels come from Canada.

Vineyard's Sweetest Fishing Season

Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs shellfishermen saw a banner start to
the bay scalloping season, and they share their reason why: Lagoon Pond.

Derek Cimeno, shellfish constable for Tisbury, is watching
shellfishermen surrounded in bay scallops. "Six hundred bushels of
bay scallops were taken in the first two days by family
shellfishermen," Mr. Cimeno said.

Aquaculture Efforts Yield Sweet Results

The Katama Bay oyster is the talk of Island raw bars. Lovers of
seafood now have a local oyster available through most of the year. This
Island oyster is making its way across the eastern seaboard to
Washington, D.C., New York and Boston.

New Shellfish Hatchery on Chappy Nurtures Island Aquaculture

Near Chappaquiddick Point lies an unassuming summer house with a big mission. Over the last summer, the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group has converted the two-bedroom home into a shellfish nursery complete with swirling pools of saltwater and millions of baby bay scallops. And although the project is not yet complete, the hatchery has already helped raise millions of tiny shellfish for distribution to the Island’s coastal ponds.

Peter West to Plant, Grow and Dig Oysters

The Selectmen of this town have granted a license to Mr. Peter West to plant, grow and dig oysters, in a certain part of Squash Meadow Pond, for 20 years. We are glad to hear this. The oysters grown on this Island are of a very superior quality, and we should not be surprised to learn of the complete success of the new enterprise.

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