A Day in Photos

Provincetown is a fascinating place, with a rich fishing history. We never tire of looking back at photos of the fleet, its characters and learning about how the fishing village helped build a nation.

Our Haddock Chowder and Provencal Fish Stew have had a busy several weeks. The Small Boats, Big Taste program keeps on growing and we have an increasing number of wonderful partners. Take a look through this gallery and see students at Barnstable High School seeking out the the soups at lunch, families at a YMCA fun fair enjoying them, staff at Cape Abilities prepping them for distribution, and state and non-profit representatives celebrating the offerings. 

Falmouth’s Waquoit Bay was sleepy on an early April morning. The state biologists that motored their small skiff through the water were there, in part, because the quiet would be short lived.

Once the summer began to ramp up, the popular water bodies across the Cape would be teeming with pleasure craft. The recreational activity makes it difficult, if not impossible, to do the dredging work needed to keep navigational channels clear. In the winter, the dredging schedule is complicated by weather and the presence of spawning winter flounder.

The biologists are figuring out when flounder are spawning, to see if there are more opportunities for off-season work. In this gallery, we get a close look at the research involved.

Hawai’i has invested in aquaculture to promote the islands’ food security and diversify the economy, to find out more we visited two key facilities supported by the state. Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC) is a unique coastal facility that supports aquaculture and marine science programs at the University of Hawai’i Hilo. PACRC research and education activities focus on growing native ornamentals, foodfish, and oysters, as well as aquaculture technician workforce training for 20 to 30 students annually and restoration of native species

Blue Ocean Mariculture is the nation’s first commercial farm to raise fish in the open ocean.  They accomplished this through close communication with local fishermen to select mutually agreeable species and location..  The local commercial fishermen are supportive of farming kanpachi, since it means one of their favorite fishes is back on the menu. 

“Healthier people create healthier communities,” is the catchphrase of the Family Table Collaborative and local seafood is a big part of that.  The Family Table gets donations from local fishermen, including Jesse Rose of the Midnight Our, as well as cases of haddock chowder and Provencal Fish Stew from the Fishermen’s Alliance.

Twenty six years is a long time, older than a few captains in the fleet, older than his own children, almost older than his wedding vows. Just about as old as this organization. John Our has had a long, long history in the fishing industry, that started when he was five

Comparing fish markets around the world is always fascinating, and always reminds me of the historic depth and power of our fishery back home.
Latest example: Sicily.
Mondello, at the fringe of muscular Palermo, perches on the sea with a fine sand beach that lures tourists – sound familiar? A Coast Guard station abuts a small fishermen’s market. Mondello residents swing by to peruse and buy.
The market is makeshift, if something centuries old can be called that. There is modern canvas shade but no ice; best to get this fish to a cool place straight away. Plastic totes contain what was retrieved in small boats at sunrise, single men working single days close to shore. See photos of the market, and what’s for sale, in our photo gallery.

The Cape is still a small enough place that we get to know a lot of our supporters personally. They also get to know us and the commercial fishermen who steer our organization. Some of our relationships extend back decades, others are more recent, but they all strengthen our community. We are proud of our events that connect the local fishing industry to neighbors and friends and we have had a fall full of them, so wanted to share some photos with you. Hope to see you soon! Meet the Fleet photos by Erin Minns Photography.