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One of Will Ligenza’s first jobs was crewing on a boat out of Chatham 20 years ago with a skinny high school kid named Farrell Davis, and the captain said, “If you make that kid cry I will give you $50.”
After a day at work Mel Sanderson hustled home, ate a quick dinner, and set off immediately for the Chatham Fish Pier to meet Captain Bob Keese who was coming in from a scallop trip.
When she arrived she found out from another fisherman that he had just finished unloading and had already left to put his boat , F/V Sandra Anne, on the mooring. But he had left something for her:
Selectman Paul McCormick lives on the south side of Dennis where there are still signs of an ancient weir fishery that began with Native Americans and later helped build the Cape.
He happily answers visitors’ questions about the historic fishery in the context of the industry’s importance today.
There once was a man named Stanley Bishop who worked for an outfit called Railway Express, similar to FedEx, and his route included Chatham.
The year was 1936 or so, and Bishop knew a lot of fishermen, including Captain George Bloomer, who told him that the best, freshest fish was being unloaded in Chatham. Bishop’s route also included Fulton Fish Market in New York and he didn’t need much convincing to launch a new business: Old Harbor Fish Company.
Colleen Barry, CEO of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty opened up our Meet the Fleet event in Falmouth by highlighting the power of community, and how commercial fishing has always bound those ties together.
Last month in this space I dove into a pool that is surprisingly deep — the economic impact of Massachusetts fisheries.
Culling through excellent reports from the Division of Marine Fisheries, the bottom line is that in 2021, Massachusetts landings showed a value of $802 million “ex-vessel,” meaning the total amount fishermen were paid for their catch, all species, before that harvest was re-sold in markets or restaurants.
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