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If the Cape is anything, it is a place of migration, and migrants.
This time of year that’s obvious. You can look in the air and see where the birds are headed. You can look in the sea and trace fish movements as waters cool. You can even look down the street, and wave to neighbors headed south or back to “the other home.”
A fishing method that dates to at least 9000 B.C. will likely still grace the waters of Barnstable.
When the only weir fisherman on the Cape decided to focus on other fisheries, it looked like the last of the poles and nets that trapped migrating fish would disappear.
Jake Angelo, 32, fishing since he was a kid, always thought trap fishing was interesting. He figured he could take it on.
When Samuel de Champlain visited Wellfleet Harbor in 1606, he named the place “Port aux Huitres,” Port of Oysters.
A lot has changed, but the name still rings true.
“Oysters are ingrained into the fabric of our community,” said Nancy Civetta, Wellfleet shellfish constable. “We prioritize that way of life.”
With 400 people gathered under a party tent on an August night, one would expect plenty of noise, but during John Pappalardo’s speech there was silence.
“We are here tonight because we belong to a place—a real place. Cape Cod is not an idea or a brand,” Pappalardo, CEO of the Fishermen’s Alliance, told the crowd. “It is a stretch of coastline carved by time and tide, filled with working hands and living stories. The men and women who fish its waters have done so not for fortune, but for sustenance, for dignity, and for the hope of passing something along.”
Weir fishing almost disappeared on Cape Cod. For those who may not understand how surreal that is we compiled excerpts from a random sample of newspaper articles and other accounts about the historic practice. The items show how important the industry was, with ups and downs. Although these historical gems are focused on the Outer Cape, trap fishing was a bustling industry across the peninsula.
There were so many great moments, food, and people at Hookers Ball that there isn’t enough room to share even a fraction of the frivolity. Thankfully, a picture is worth 1000 words and we have close to a dozen to share, taken by Salty Broad Studios. Check out this gallery for a glimpse into the fun and see who went “Skating Through Summer” with us and helped make the 24th annual ball under the Big White tent one for the record books.
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