Ask Any Fisherman: Vote NO On Article 73

To the editor: In 2007, we came together as a group of local fishermen and formed “Ask Any Fisherman” to oppose Sconset Beach Preservation Fund’s (SBPF) proposed dredging project. Our goal was to preserve the fishery and near-shore habitat through education about the delicate marine ecosystem that existed in the project area. The people of Nantucket stood with us and voted against the project. This eventually resulted in SBPF withdrawing their beach nourishment/dredging project application.

Over the years, this vote was forgotten, and SBPF installed almost a thousand feet of geotubes in 2014. We do not have deep pockets or fancy lawyers to fight the fight and save the fishery. Since then, as a direct result of SBPF’s geotube project, the near-shore bottom has become covered with sand and no longer sustains life the way it once did. We won the vote and lost the environment, so we had to find new areas to fish. We now go to Martha’s Vineyard, Monomoy Island, and as far as Chatham to fish. Taking a charter or commercially fishing under Sankaty is now a lost cause.

Our tag line once was “Ask Any Fisherman.” Today, if you “Ask Any Fisherman” where they fish it’s not under Sankaty Light because there are no fish there.

It’s come to our attention that SBPF is providing videos and reports that the fishery has been unaffected by their project. We are writing to let you know that this is not true. Any proposals by SBPF to expand the project should include a closer look into the veracity of these videos and reports and require real time fishery surveys by neutral third parties. These surveys were once required during SBPF’s original dredge proposal and using that data as a benchmark could be used to see where things are today.

The current proposal to expand the geotubes to almost a mile will only make the situation worse. Other negative impacts include the huge amounts of sand required for the expansion, as well as the prospect of offshore dredging as a sand source.

As islanders who know our marine environment best, we ask voters to say NO to Article #73 at Annual Town Meeting on May 4. If we are successful in defeating Article #73, then we can begin to restore what has been lost. Thank you.

Captain Carl Bois
Captain Brian Borgeson
Captain Ray DeCosta
Captain Josh Eldridge
Captain Jim Sjolund
Captain Austin Starr
Captain Griffin Starr
Captain Jay Starr