November 25, 2015 — Just a few decades ago, Greenport Village looked very different.
Fishermen describe as many as 50 towering fishing vessels crammed into the deepwater port, making pit stops at Claudio’s dock before their offshore expeditions in the Atlantic. The docks were swarmed with fishing crews unloading their stock for sale at fish markets across the East Coast.
But today, the dozens of captains whose boats once fed Greenport’s fishing industry have either fled for other ports or been scuppered altogether.
Greenport is sold to tourists as a fishing village (the village crest features a sailing ship from its whaling heyday). And while many commercial baymen, oyster farmers and charter boat captains still operate out of the harbor, the huge commercial fleet that powered the working waterfront is almost completely gone.
That once-great fleet took its penultimate blow this fall.
Third-generation fisherman Sidney “Sid” Smith III sold his 63-foot fishing boat, Merit, and left the industry in October, leaving just one offshore commercial fleet fisherman operating out of Greenport Village — Mark Phillips.
“Am I happy about selling the Merit? Not at all,” Mr. Smith said while recuperating from back surgery at his Southold home. “To me, it’s a sin to just let something go.”
Mr. Smith — a 61-year-old outspoken captain who’s had his run-ins with state and local officials over his fishing operation — said he’s tired of fighting the trend of a dying industry.
“It was hard work, but it was a good living,” he said. “But I’ve been watching boats disappear, docks disappear, whole businesses disappear.”
Mr. Phillips, who operates out of Greenport Harbor in the 83-footer Illusion, repeated the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
He thought the idiom would always apply to Greenport, he said. He’s not convinced anymore.
Read the full story at The Suffolk Times