Plumbing the Depths

Close to 15 years ago, after researcher Owen Nichols’ first season working with a fishing family, he came up with what he thought was an impressive chart that drew direct connections between wind direction, water temperature and the presence of squid.

Bluefin tuna and striped bass crash through the waves.  Seabirds wheel overhead and plunge into the water.  Gape-mouthed whales rise from below.  Schools of cod and dogfish hide below the surface.

Ocean acidification has often been called climate change’s evil twin, and both global perils are so pervasive it can be hard to put them in perspective.

Last year, when the pandemic sent fishery revenues crashing and had the industry on the rocks, Dan McKiernan, then acting director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, got a call from John Pappalardo.

Dr. George Maynard, knowing fishermen are always pressed for time, often found them at odd hours and out-of-the-way spots.

“Do you think the lobster fishery and right whales can co-exist?”

Dozens of people had swung through parking lots, picking up a bounty of local fare to prepare a carefully orchestrated meal of “scallop crudo”: turnips, shallots, dill and other ingredients accompanying the star — freshly caught dayboat scallops.

Adrien Kmeic owns Hatch’s Fish Market in Wellfleet and has spent a lot of time thinking about how to give second life to fish waste that doesn’t end up as bait in lobster traps.

After visiting the observation deck at the Chatham Fish Pier, three siblings climbed around the metal sculpture honoring fishermen and talked about all they had learned.