Cape Cod Fish Report

[jesus marion joseph]

Here in the land of the cod, we have a one-eyed woman who wears a patch and writes the fish report for the local paper. Many of her columns are gems. This one is good, although it's far from her best:



Visits to tackle shops always net useful information
By MOLLY BENJAMIN
The fish-tackle shops were about as busy as you can get last week.

Fishing's been good and all, but you know what? After the long, endless winter, followed by a long, cold spring, it appears folks are heading for the boats and the beaches in droves, exalting in summer while we have it.

And of course, the sensible angler stops by the local tackle shop on the way. We know our Cape Cod shops are filled with the friendliest, most informative folks you can imagine, but that's not entirely it. There's this tradition, we'll have to say, of stopping by the shop. Maybe for the update, maybe it's how we get our blood running fishy.

But that's a real part of summer. And just yesterday, a friend of mine commented that we've got summer for about two more months. Then, well, pffft.

It'll be ovah. Autumn will fall, and there's some of us around who prefer that season to all others.

Summer is short - and when temperatures brush the 90s, this is a good thing.

But when temperatures are nearly perfect, when humidity levels are down, well, you just can't beat it with a gaff. And there is nothing in the world to match the plethora of summery feelings caused by a single fish on the other end of a line.

So gettum while the gittin' is good. Carpe diem isn't just about carp.

;Martha's Vineyard

2) We got the best run of sand eels seen in these parts in ages. Me 'n' Martha ran outta 'em a few days ago, so she sends me into Coop's to grab some more. (She wasn't about to be seen trying to procure store-bought bait, of course.)

So what does Coop show me? Sand eels he'd gotten from his bait guy - from Denmark. Freakin' Denmark. Denmark has the questionable wind factory that's causing confusion over here and now this - imported sand eels, during a great sand eel year.

Now, that's confusing.

Bass fishing's been slowing up all week. Up-island is the best place if that's what you got a hankering for. There's plenty of blues all over the place, so we're smoking 'em up like a convention of Camel puffers. Boats are finding slow fishing except for off Gay Head.

Imported sand eels. What next?

;Cape southside beaches and estuaries

4) Fluke have moved in and the fishing can be pretty consistent. Work the waters of Succonnessett, Popponesset and Cotuit. Sand eels, of course.

Lots of blues along the south shore. Some bass coming from shore; fish the channels. Schoolies are in Bass River mixed with a number of keepers.

;The Great Backside Beach

6) By far the best bass fishing along this stretch occurs in the early, early mornings. Sand eels are the overwhelming choice of bait. Nauset Light, Ballston to Long Nook, Head of the Meadow and Race Point have a lot of over-20-pound fish. These fish are also hitting lures, particularly pencil poppers and needlefish (aka sandeel lookalikes.)

The weekend generated a few reports of small bluefin chasing bluefish off the Mission Bell. Hmmmmmm.

The worst news about the backside is that both mung and the doggies are showing up.

;Freshwater fishlines

Freshwater bass fishing is quite good. Artificial worms are working well, particularly a new one called a Yum Dinger. Bass usually feed by way of hiding and pouncing, so plop your offerings near a hidey-place.

u u u

Information for this column was gathered from an assemblage of shoreside friends and kindly strangers, plus the folks at the following shops: Canal Bait and Tackle, Bourne; Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay; M & D's, Wareham; Forestdale Bait and Tackle, Forestdale; Falmouth Bait and Tackle and Eastman's, Falmouth; Sports Port, Hyannis; Riverview and Truman's, Yarmouth; Goose Hummock, the Bait Shack and the Hook Up, Orleans; Blackbeard's, Eastham; Gone Fishin', Wellfleet; Nelson's Bait and Tackle, Provincetown; Cross Rip Outfitters in Nantucket; and Coop's in Edgartown.

Molly Benjamin is a former commercial fisherman who now concentrates on fishing for the fun of it. Her fishing column appears on Thursdays in the Outside section. She also writes a column about the outdoors for the Sports section. You may reach her at 508-349-3607.

[Gentle Giant]

Fixed.

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

The worst news about the backside is that both dung and the moggies are showing up.

[jesus marion joseph]

Ha ha!

[Ron Thorne]

From my perspective, this may as well have been written by someone from another planet!

My oldest son and I did a float trip down the world-reknowned Kenai River yesterday with one of my nephews (a professional guide), and caught three species of fish over a four hour period . . . all freshwater beauties.*

However, everything is not entirely good in the Land of the Midnight Sun with respect to our fisheries.

*Photos on request.

[Phil_Meloy]

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

So what does Coop show me? Sand eels he'd gotten from his bait guy - from Denmark. Freakin' Denmark. Denmark has the questionable wind factory that's causing confusion over here and now this - imported sand eels, during a great sand eel year.

Now, that's confusing.

Not so confusing. The Danes have been hoovering the North Sea dry of sand-eels with large factory ships to use as pig food of all things - that's right - their acclaimed Danish bacon is raised on fish meal. I guess a small percentage of the catch has also been frozen and exported as bait for anglers probably undercutting local small suppliers. A decline in stocks caused by climate change combined with over fishing has caused the situation to get so serious that they have recently placed a complete ban on catching sand eels in the North Sea and although the sand-eel population was critically depleted it is expected to recover there are fears that during the intermin the shortage of sand-eels is now going to impact severely on fish populations such as cod (already severely depleted) and sea birds such as Puffins as sand-eels are an important element in their food supply.

Sand-eels ban

MP angered by Danish sandeel plundering

[jesus marion joseph]

Freakin' sand eeels.

[Phil_Meloy]

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

Freakin' sand eeels.

Strikes me that you just don't appreciate what sand eels do for us.

[jesus marion joseph]

Originally Posted by Phil_Meloy

Strikes me that you just don't appreciate what sand eels do for us.

I'll have to admit that, prior to this thread, I never thought of sand eels as anything other than bait for catching bluefish and/or striped bass, or that they would ever be overharvested (or hat they existed in Denmark, even). It is not uncommon around these parts to see fishermen wading in chest high water with their eel rakes, collecting bait.

[Phil_Meloy]

You're obviously not a Puffin then.

[jesus marion joseph]

Freakin' dogfish



It's time to go after striped bass
By MOLLY BENJAMIN
The commercial season for striped bass opened Tuesday, and most folks are thinking that maybe the gang will have the good season they've been seeking for the last few years.

The only difference between a commercial and recreational bass angler, really, is the license. The gear is identical, for all stripers must be caught on rod-and-reel.

One of the endless problems faced every year is due to the big numbers of license holders. The season is structured such that one may only fish a few days of each week in an attempt to both cut down on the number of weekend warriors and to avoid flooding sensitive markets.

Most people who really work on the water tend to resent those who have day jobs during the week and then hop into their boats on the weekends to participate in this great fishery. On the other hand, there is something to be said for keeping access to a fishery open, particularly as so many other species are strictly limited entry, which means if you don't have a license now, you probably never will.

To our south, some states - most notably, New Jersey - prohibit all sales of striped bass. This edict indicates the strong political power of the organized recreational fishermen down thataway. These guys tend to see commercial fishermen as rapers and pillagers of the sea, rather than as the means by which the general public gets its fish. In New Jersey, you must have the time, the gear, and the aptitude to catch your own if you wish to sit down to a nice striped bass supper. To some of us, this situation simply reeks of elitism.

But hey. We live in the Commonwealth, not the Garden State. And for all our own political theatrics, most of us prefer it that way.

;Martha's Vineyard

2) We had some greenheads come through last week.

Not the kind of greenheads that bite you, though this kind does have a terrible bite as well. These greenheads were the save-the-snails kind, only in this case they were interested in that terribly endangered species, the dogfish.

Seems down New Jersey way the big fish council voted to save the dogfish as a means of assuaging one of the top greenheads, who apparently has a real thing for sharks. You can imagine the looks on their faces when Martha's pal Johnny stuck his rigging knife into every dogfish that bothered his baits as he was trying to attract stripers. We

got more doggies here than tourists - the endangered dogfish, yo.

Best beach fishin's been at Wasque as Lobsterville has slowed up considerably. Falling tide's been best. The boat gang says the rips are kinda slow, but the best news is that somebody found a bonito off Menemsha. Pretty early for that, but hey. We'll take what we get.

;Cape southside beaches and estuaries

4) Lots and lots of scup available from off the jetties. Blues along the Popponesset-South Cape stretch. Some bass at South Dennis Beach and inside Bass River.

;The Great Backside Beach

6) The back beach has been pretty good from Newcomb Hollow to Race Point, though it's been spottier toward the Race. Nauset Light has some bass as well. Sand eels are the best bait available. Dropping tides to dead low, or the nighttime low, are the bear. The dreaded mung is starting to show but most beaches are still quite fishable.

;Freshwater fishlines

Bass fishing is best in the early mornings or toward dusk into dark. One good approach is to first catch a small sunfish and use it as one would a shiner.

Trout have moved into the depths, seeking cold water. They'll bite, but you have to get out to where they are.

u u u

Information for this column was gathered from an assemblage of shoreside friends and kindly strangers, plus the folks at the following shops: Canal Bait and Tackle, Bourne; Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay; M & D's, Wareham; Forestdale Bait and Tackle, Forestdale; Falmouth Bait and Tackle and Eastman's, Falmouth; Sports Port, Hyannis; Riverview and Truman's, Yarmouth; Goose Hummock, the Bait Shack and the Hook Up, Orleans; Blackbeard's, Eastham; Gone Fishin', Wellfleet; Nelson's Bait and Tackle, Provincetown; Cross Rip Outfitters in Nantucket; and Coop's in Edgartown.

Molly Benjamin is a former commercial fisherman who now concentrates on fishing for the fun of it. Her fishing column appears on Thursdays in the Outside section. She also writes a column about the outdoors for the Sports section. You may reach her at 508-349-3607.

[Phil_Meloy]

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

Johnny stuck his rigging knife into every dogfish that bothered his baits as he was trying to attract stripers.

Well Johnny sounds like a right asshole! Imagine gratuitously killing dogfish just because they weren't the type of fish you were hoping to attract with your bait. I suppose this guy walks up and down the shore smashing every crab he can find with a hammer 'cause they can be a bit of a pain when they nibble your bait of the hook.

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

Freakin' dogfish

Dogfish is being so heavily commercially fished for in the US off the New England coast that environmentalists are now beginning to be concerned about it actually becoming extinct because of its slow reproductive cycle and over fishing. Mature female dogfish are now extremely depleted and the number of pups is at record low levels. The dogfish has a very slow reproductive cycle with a gestation period of nearly two years - one of the slowest of any living vertebate and only produces a small number of pups each time it gives birth (approx. 6) making it particularly susceptible to overfishing. Females do not become sexually mature until they are twelve years old. Not long ago, the spiny dogfish which is a member of the shark family, was just a rubbish fish that fouled fishermen's nets. Nobody wanted to catch it, let alone eat it. Fishermen even held strategy sessions on how to get away from schools of dogfish to avoid getting them in their nets however only about a decade after first attracting the interest of the commercial fishing industry, the once lowly dogfish is now at the center of an ecological debate regarding its long-term survival. Research biologists and conservationists claim it is being fished out of existence along the Atlantic coast. Dogfish is marketed in the States as "Cape Shark" to make it sound more appetizing or in here the UK as the the "Rock Salmon" you buy in the fish & chips shop.

[jesus marion joseph]

I was aware of the plight of the dogfish. The Lobster Pot in Ptown (restaurant) used to do a "trash fish" dinner every year, in which they would highlight fish that were typically killed or overlooked as the by-product of "regular" commercial fishing. Skate featured prominently, IIRC. Speaking of which, I have to believe that skate is going the way of the dogfish, as I often see large plastic barrels of them waiting to be loaded onto lobster boats to be used as bait in the lobster pots. Major league stinky, BTW.

Had some freshly-caught striped bass over the weekend. Grilled with truffle butter (no maple syrup). Yum.

[Phil_Meloy]

Funny how tastes differ jmj. Skate wing is quite highly regarded by many here in the UK as eating fish (I actually don't like it much myself) and skate now virtually non-existent in British coastal waters. Also monkfish which now appears on the menu in expensive restaurants was sold cheaply as "rock salmon" in the fish & chip shops forty years ago. That striped bass sure sounds good. Over here our bass are black with a silver underside and come inshore in the summer months. They're by no means present in the same quantities as in the past and the government is now considering banning commercial fishing for them altogether. Most of the river estuaries in the southern half of England are already designated bass nurseries in the summer months where it is illegal to fish for bass from a boat.

What are bluefish like to eat?

[steve(thelil)]

When my baby sister graduated from college she travelled for much of a year and lived in Seville for a few months. When the lovely Mrs.thelil and I visited her, we took her out for a seafood dinner at a nice place at some somewhat nearby coastal town.

My sister and her friend were really into ordering in Spanish and were fairly familiar with the local seafood offerings, so they didn't even peek over at the English translation page (which was provided for us ugly tourist types). All of the dishes were also numbered.

Looking at the Spanish page, my sister Pook and her friend Traci got excited at the sight of a certain entree. They both practically shouted "Ooh, order number 59, it's GREAT"

Wanting to see what I was to order, we went to the English translation page to see what the sublime number 59 was.

"Oh, 'marinated spiny dogfish' - mmmmmmmmm"

[Phil_Meloy]

Dogfish is actually fine to eat. It would probably be good marinated as the "rock salmon" you get in the fish and chip shops which is deep fried in batter can be a touch rubbery. Although they are OK to eat I've been told that they are quite difficult to skin. Responsible anglers over here tend to catch and release them unharmed as they are usually targeting other fish such as bass but unlike the abovementioned Johnny don't feel the need to exterminate any hapless dogfish that has had the misfortune to end up on their line. In fact there are some groups in the UK who would like to see fishing banned as fox hunting has been. The wanton slaughter that Johnny seems to be comfortable with would just be giving the anti-fishing lobby serious ammunition to forward their case.

[jesus marion joseph]

Originally Posted by Phil_Meloy

What are bluefish like to eat?

Bluefish is a darker, oilier, more pungent tasting fish. Personally I love it, especially on the grill or, even better, smoked (the oiliness makes it an ideal smoking fish, IMHO). It's one of those love-it-or-hate-it kind of things, though. Mrs. jmj won't touch it. Many folks seem enamored of slathering it with mayonnaise and roasting it. Blech. Why add more oiliness to an already oily fish?

Love monkfish. I think the best monkfish I had was at the Brewster Fish House. It was wrapped with thinly sliced pancetta and braised. Yum.

Re: Johnny; I've met lots of commercial fishermen, as my father in law used to be one, and my wife grew up in a town where there was a thriving fishing fleet, and I've been struck by how little regard they show as a group for conservation or reducing litter. I wasn't surprised to read about Johnny gaffing the dogfish, it seems to be how they view the resource.

[Phil_Meloy]

Hmmm Bluefish sounds a bit similiar to Mackeral (great when cooked fresh from the sea) but with darker flesh. As for Johnny, we have our own share of "Johnnies" over here in the UK angling community. A few weeks ago an acquaintance reported seeng some idiot actually tossing a live dogfish he'd caught to his bull terrier to rip apart on the pier. Fortunately instances such as this are fairly rare and most anglers are aware and appreciative of conservation issues and practice a catch and return policy for any fish that are undersize or not destined for the plate. On the whole anglers also tend to be pretty conscientous as regards litter at fishing spots too and people actually go to lengths such as when searching for bait repacing rocks the same way up they found them in order to cause as little environmental impact as possible. I have heard a few complaints about recent immigrants from Eastern Europe taking undersize fish but although I'm sure that this does happen sometimes I must say the immigrants I've encountered when fishing have been as well behaved as everyone else. There's not a lot I can say about the commercial fishing industry here apart from that the policy they are pursuing at the moment is unsustainable and fish stocks are in serious decline in British waters. I appreciate that you don't have a glowing opinion of the US commercial fishing industy but from what I've read US fishing policy is probably a bit better than ours.

Please keep the Cape Cod reports coming jmj. I'm always interested in fishing news fron the north-east USA and hope to maybe one day get to Jamaica Bay or somewhere to try my luck at fishing for stripers.

[steve(thelil)]

How are the boner fish running this year?

[jesus marion joseph]

Originally Posted by steve(thelil)

How are the boner fish running this year?

Hard and fast.

[GoodSpeak]

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

Hard and fast.

Well, hell, JMJ...bait 'er up then.

[jesus marion joseph]

A surprise twist in the shark tourney
By MOLLY BENJAMIN

The fog's been so thick around the Vineyard lately the restaurants have begun to serve it sauteed, fried, baked, rare and medium rare.

Boats trying to get out of the harbor during last week's Oak Bluffs Shark Tournament had a heck of a time of it. Even with gobs of electronics, that kind of thick fog makes a person tentative. With some 260 boats, you've got the makings of a real cluster-mess.

And this year's event had a heck of a surprise ending. One boat caught an 1,100-pound tiger shark, but failed to take the prize.

Why? Because they were 10 minutes late to the weigh-in.

Can you imagine heading into the harbor, knowing full well you're just not gonna make it? Ohboy. Ohboy, ohboy.

The folks who did win the thing were in a typical Fairhaven-based tuna boat. Four rods, not that fancy. They brought in two porbeagles that took the dough - and bragging rights.

Now, one is tempted to feel awful bad for the tardy tiger shark people, and rightfully so. But another side of the coin is recognized by simply looking at the boats involved: The tiger shark was caught by people in a fancy 50-footer (or in that neighborhood) who probably went pretty darn far offshore for their quarry. Nothing wrong with that, but then you look at the little ol' tunaboat that could, and maybe you're glad it turned out the way it did.

State shark biologist Greg Skomal said a lot of good science got done over the course of things, and he's the kinda guy you believe every time. So hey, all of us Red Sox Nation people know how to pronounce ''Wait 'til next year.''

Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay

1) The eastern end of the canal has been slow, though it's better by The Cribben. With this heat, the trick is eels at night. Fluke hanging from Portygee Hole to the post office, and again at the tanker cuts by the plant. Ton of small blues here, really, really small blues. It's the future, looking at you.

Buzzards has picked up considerably for those seeking stripers. A big charge of new fish - complete with sea lice - has appeared off Wareham, and are fanning out throughout Buzzards and along the edges of the Canal. Best bet is tube-and-worm or live eels. Lots of scup around, which, of course, can be live-lined. Fluke fishing is getting better and better, not the big rush one would hope for, but better. This is true from both the beach and boats. Sea bass are still thick but slowing, and will continue to fade as the weather and water get hotter. Tons of blues here, which have doubled in average size since last week - currently hitting about 8 pounds.

Martha's Vineyard

2) Martha 'n' me got talked into the shark deal by Martha's nieces, the Vandellas.

What we found included a few sharks, of course - but as my buddy Gallagher would say, there were bluefish like you read about. They must stretch from the beach for 50 miles, no kiddin'. Never have we seen so many. Thousands and thousands - 10, 15, 18 pounds. Big momma fish, I'm sayin' here.

So we gets to shark fishin' and sets up a slick. A few bluedogs come in and start to feed. Then what do we see? A pack of bluefish nipping at the blue shark's tails. They by gosh chased the sharks out of the slick, can you b'lieve it?

While we were offshore, we learned there's some bluefin showing at the 31 Hole and back behind the island. No sign of the bonito that zipped in two weeks ago. Those fellas musta just been lost, anyhow.

Nantucket

3) Well, seems like the mysterious bonito are now over here. Holy hot dog. Bass are feeding along the north shore, but they're feeding on small shrimp and thus extremely difficult to entice into a hit.

Cape southside beaches and estuaries

4) Except for the blues off Osterville, things are a little slow here. Some scup from off the rocks. Some fish in Bass River. Down Harwich way, Red River, Brooks Road and Pleasant Street are showing nice blues, some bass, doggies, and some fluke.

Nantucket Sound

5) Big, big blues at the Horseshoe and Middle Ground. They're hitting topwater gear at The 'Shoe. Fluke fishing getting better and better at Middle Ground. Norton Shoal's probably the best bet for stripers, though it isn't bad off Sankaty Light. Tom's Shoal still has stripers, and they're hit-and-miss off Wasque, though when you get one it's probably a very nice fish. Tube-and-worm is best, especially the very lightweight ones. Best fluke bet is Lucas Shoal. Monomoy is also kinda spotty but at least there are few blues to destroy the tackle.

The Great Backside Beach

6) Not the best place to be this week, but of course, it's not the worst either. (Hey, you could be trying to catch fish in the pools formed by the leaking Big Dig.)

This hot weather has the fish in the doldrums. Be there between 4 and 7 am, and again at sunset. Nights are awful long: You can soak some eels and maybe come up with a fish or two for your trouble.

Long Nook has been pretty clean, same for the Race.

Cape Cod Bay

7) Nothing much doing at the Fingers lately. Flounder can be found in the mud going toward Plymouth from the canal at 40-45 feet. Big blues at the Dump with big bass under them. Trick is, getting down to the stripers. Try tube-and-worm with a 6- or 8-ounce sinker.

Barnstable Harbor has big and small bass, including a recent 30-pounder. Good-sized fish around Billingsgate - tube-and-worm or bunker spoons. Lots of blues around.

Provincetown Harbor still has flounder, some stripers, and fluke continue to very sloooooowly get better.

Freshwater fishlines

An 8.40-pound largemouth was caught upCape this week. Good bass weather, just don't forget that the fish are hiding.

Information for this column was gathered from an assemblage of shoreside friends and kindly strangers, plus the folks at the following shops: Canal Bait and Tackle, Bourne; Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay; M & D's, Wareham; Forestdale Bait and Tackle, Forestdale; Falmouth Bait and Tackle and Eastman's, Falmouth; Sports Port, Hyannis; Riverview and Truman's, Yarmouth; Goose Hummock, the Bait Shack and the Hook Up, Orleans; Blackbeard's, Eastham; Gone Fishin', Wellfleet; Nelson's Bait and Tackle, Provincetown; Cross Rip Outfitters in Nantucket; and Coop's in Edgartown.

Molly Benjamin is a former commercial fisherman who now concentrates on fishing for the fun of it. Her fishing column appears on Thursdays in the Outside section. She also writes a column about the outdoors for the Sports section. You may reach her at 508-349-3607.

(Published: July 21, 2005)


What is a "porbeagle", you ask?

[jesus marion joseph]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shark tourney nets flak
By ERICH LUENING
Contributing writer
OAK BLUFFS - A national animal rights group is moving to end a popular Martha's Vineyard shark-fishing tournament and keep ESPN from airing footage of this year's event.


The 1,191-pound tiger shark caught in this month's tournament drew the attention of The Humane Society.


Just days after the last sharks were weighed at this year's annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament, The Humane Society of the United States has launched a campaign to stop the ''contest of killing sharks,'' according to a statement.

The Humane Society sent a letter to ABC Sports and ESPN, which covered the tournament extensively, asking them to withdraw plans to air the event this fall. ESPN also broadcast the shark-fishing tournament last year.

John Grandy, a senior vice president for the Humane Society, said the group is calling on its 9 million members to pressure the national cable sports network to pull the shark shows.

''Killing of sharks or any animal is an affront to a civilized society,'' Grandy said. ''In this case it contributes to further declines in shark populations while adding to the stigma that surrounds these magnificent predators.''

One of several such events in East Coast waters, the Monster Shark Tournament has taken place for 19 years and is popular with area fishermen.

About 240 boats participated this year, landing 46 sharks from July 14 to 16, according to Greg Skomal an aquatic biologist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries.


''Shocked and aghast''
But it was one shark in particular that drew fire from The Humane Society: a 1,191-pound tiger shark that was brought in moments after the tournament had ended.

Photographs of the sizable shark were circulated around the world and broadcast on several television stations.

''I was shocked and aghast when I saw it on the 'Today' show,''' Grandy said. ''It is a horrific waste of animal life.''

Although no legal action has been filed, The Humane Society has been involved in dozens of lawsuits on behalf of animals as varied as elephants, manatees and snow geese.

Locally, The Humane Society waged a battle against coyote hunting on Monomoy Island in the mid-1990s.

It is uncertain how far The Humane Society will take this latest campaign, but the group's displeasure with the shark tournament was clear.

In a letter to George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society, asks the network to pull the upcoming show about the tournament.

''Even before the debut of the book and movie 'Jaws,' sharks captured the public's imagination,'' Pacelle said. ''In the last several decades, the public's fascination has spurred research that has allowed us better understanding of their life history and growing conservation concerns.''

The letter goes on to cite studies by the United Nations that found that more than 100 million sharks are killed each year and that global shark populations have declined by 90 percent in the past 50 years.

''These are shocking statistics and they should incite us all to protect these magnificent and ancient creatures, not to seek to kill more of them,'' Pacelle said. ''Contests like the tournament glorify the gruesome deaths of some of the ocean's most fascinating and least understood creatures.''

ESPN executives would not comment on the complaint.


Science's dependency
Skomal, the state's renowned shark expert who gained notoriety last year when a great white shark was trapped in a local inlet, said scientists depend on events like the shark tournament to gain subjects for their studies.

''The problem we have as scientists is that there is no way you can learn life history by swimming around with live sharks,'' Skomal said. ''You have to kill them to do the samples that produce the best scientific data. We do the same for other fisheries as well. If the shark tournament goes away, we lose an avenue into this type of science.''

Skomal also questioned the numbers being used by The Humane Society to back up their complaints.

Skomal said the population of blue sharks, one of the sharks allowed in the tournament, has dropped just 15 percent from their virgin biomass population. Virgin biomass is the estimated historical population of a fishery.

''This is clearly different than the numbers being used by The Humane Society,'' Skomal said. ''The public has to go beyond the press releases and dig into the facts and data that exist to get a broad perspective on this.''


A major event
For two decades, the Boston Big Game Fishing Club has held the Monster Shark Tournament out of Oak Bluffs Harbor, and the event has grown into one of the biggest summer events on Martha's Vineyard.

Fishermen and charter boat captains from all over the northeast pay $1,000 per vessel to participate. The first prize, a new boat, was valued at $130,000.

Oak Bluffs selectmen are working with tournament organizers to rein in the participants and share more of the money the event raises with the community that hosts the tournament.

The campaign to stop the event echoes some concerns voiced by local animal rights activists who have started raising the issue on the editorial pages of local papers.

Steve James, president of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club, has heard the latest complaints, but is adamant about the tournament's value to science, the local economy and to fishermen who participate in the event.

''If somehow they have acquired more knowledge and insight than the National Marine Fisheries Service with respect to fisheries management here in the northwestern Atlantic, I encourage them to share it,'' he said. ''What does The Humane Society know about marine fisheries? This is what recreational fishermen do, we kill fish.''

The fishing club has used money raised by the tournament to purchase a $4,000 pop-up satellite archival tag for Skomal for researching thresher sharks' migration patterns and habitat, depth and feeding preferences.

James also points to the last tournament, where caught sharks assisted scientists in the study of the shark's inner ear.

''As fishermen, we are the ones interested in maintaining the sharks and the conservation of the fishery,'' James said.

(Published: July 29, 2005)

Copyright © Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved.

[jesus marion joseph]

Salty columnist Benjy was 'larger than life'
By ROBIN LORD
and DOUG FRASER
STAFF WRITERs
Longtime Cape Cod Times fishing columnist and reporter Molly Benjamin, 60, died yesterday morning after a short battle with liver cancer.

She passed away at her home in Wellfleet just five days after more than 300 people from all walks of life had packed the VFW Hall in Provincetown to raise funds for her care.

If you knew fishing in New England, the name ''Benjy'' meant the woman from Greenville, Maine, who settled on Cape Cod in the 1970s and lived, ate and slept fishing. She was a one-of-a-kind character who was pure Yankee, big-hearted, generous, outspoken and never failed to make an impression.

The eyepatch (the result of a fishing accident), the workclothes no matter what the occasion, and the occasional slip into a broad Maine accent marked her as a salty character.

Her given first name was Bonnie, but she changed it to Molly - her daughter's name - after the accident.

''It's a huge loss for the Cape Cod Times and for Cape Cod,'' said Times editor Paul Pronovost. ''Molly had a spirit, a soul that gave color to our pages that is now lost. She had a way of making fishing columns must-reads for people with no interest in fishing. That's a huge talent.''

In a 1996 Boston Globe article, Benjamin described how she grew up in Maine and upstate New York, then studied zoology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and the University of Colorado in Boulder. She and her daughter first came to Provincetown 30 years or so years ago, where she struggled to earn a living with her fishing and mechanical skills - no easy task for a woman. Eventually, however, fishermen throughout the Cape accepted her as one of their own.

Sheila Miller, co-owner of Canal Bait and Tackle at the Sagamore end of the Cape Cod Canal, called her ''a pioneer'' who stepped into a male-dominated fishing world.

''Even nowadays, you don't hear about many women in fishing,'' Miller said. ''She was all-around a good sportswoman.''

Gail Ferguson of Wellfleet, Benjamin's good friend, said she will remember her generosity, and the nonjudgmental and principled way she led her life. Her love of sports, especially the Red Sox, was legendary.

''Larger than life describes it best,'' Ferguson said. ''She was one of the strongest people I've known both mentally and physically and was such a hard worker on her (aquaculture) grant, no one could keep up with her.''

Lou MacKeil, vice president of the Cape Cod Salties, was a friend for 25 years. He recalled a fisheries meeting in which she injected a few colorful words into her speech.

''Nobody knew her, but they found out soon enough that she talked straight, 'this is me, these are my values,''' MacKeil said.

There was plenty of evidence of the community's respect and friendship at last Friday's benefit. Not only were fishermen there but also present and former members of the Massachusetts Environmental Police and state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Former fisheries division director Phillip Coates called her an advocate of both commercial and recreational fishermen, who ''called it as she saw it and didn't mince words.'' ''She coined the phrase 'fishcrat' for people in bureaucracy. I use that as a signature on a couple of my Web sites,'' said Coates.

John Leaning, former Orleans bureau chief for the Times who worked with Benjy for more than 15 years, remembered her as a ''crusty, crafty, wonderful chronicler of the waterfront.''

''She knew her trade and wrote about it beautifully, and she will be missed by the professional and amateur angler alike, as well as the people who simply liked a taste of saltwater when they read about Cape Cod. She was unique in the true sense of the word.''

Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com.

Doug Fraser can be reached at dfraser@capecodonline.com.


(Published: December 14, 2006)

[Dr Dave]

I missed this the first time around, I'm sorry to hear she's gone. Reading her column made me feel like I was back having breakfast at Larry's PX in Chatham.

[Gentle Giant]

Shame. Seems she was quite a character. And now she sleeps with the fishes.