2017

During the second week of the Striped Bass and Bluefish derby, the name most often escaping the lips of Derby fishermen was not a trusted lure maker or a fishing buddy, but a hurricane named Jose.

Registrations are up, the weather has been good — so far — and plenty of fish are hitting the scales at derby headquarters in Edgartown.

After a summer of tension over beach closures to vehicles to protect nesting shorebirds, Vineyard fishermen weighed in with concerns.

For 72 years, fishermen have approached the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby as dreamers. Plenty of lines will hit the water at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Over 400 people took part in a fundraiser for the family of Luke Gurney, a commercial conch fisherman who died in a fishing accident last year.

On Thursday morning, about 35 fishermen took part in a Safety and Survival Training program, a two-day free course that walked commercial fishermen through live saving skills, including plunging into the frigid ocean in thick neoprene survival suits.

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