As the sun goes down on the Brewster flats, a lone shellfisherman harvests razor clams.
Sara Cornell, our intern this summer, had the opportunity to go fishing on several boats, sometimes for 20 hours at a stretch. See the fisheries through her lens.
In the initial days of her internship Sara visited some of the ports and shoreside businesses the industry depends on, including Jesse Rose’s processing facility – Midnight Our Seafood – in Chatham’s Commerce Park.
Sara then headed out on the F/V Nemesis, captained by Mike VanHoose and owned by Rose, for a day in a life on a surf clam vessel. Here Mike Otowchits, the deck boss, empties the dredge.
In the 20 or so hours Sara spent in Cape Cod Bay she had many opportunities to pick the pile.
Mike Otowchits does a quick repair on the dredge to keep the day on track.
Oftentimes the Nemesis arrives in port late at night where a truck waits to haul the catch to Rose’s facility.
Sara also met long-time captain John Our and hopped aboard his boat, Miss Fitz.
The trip from Aunt Lydia’s Cove to catch skates and dogfish was a shorter day, but required travel over the dicey Chatham Bar.
Sara spent the day gillnetting with Our and his crew.
Most of the Chatham fleet spends the summer gillnetting, which means a lot of “flaking” or spreading the nets to avoid a tangled mess.
Sara’s favorite fish is bluefin tuna so she enjoyed a long day on the water harpooning with Captain Eric Hesse.
What started out as a slow day turned into a blockbuster. “Seeing a bluefin tuna in person is still almost impossible to describe. Their size, speed, and power are unlike anything else,” Sara said, seen here with crewman Dan Deane.