June 3, 2021 — A small but lively crowd of people clapped excitedly as John Keene, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, cut the red rope Tuesday, signaling the opening of the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative. The red rope was a significant symbol because it is a weak line that’s mandatory for fishermen to use for traps because it breaks at a certain weight and is safer for whales, according to the Trust’s executive director, Shelley Edmundson.
The Seafood Collaborative was created as an extension of the trust, and will act as a wholesale market to connect Island fishermen to buyers. According to the collaborative’s website, the focus is “to wholesale a seasonal variety of local species both on- and off-Island to restaurants, markets, private chefs, caterers, and larger wholesale distributors.”
Present at the event were Keene, Edmundson, and Pete Lambos, director of operations for the collaborative.
Keene said the collaborative works to cooperate with the fish markets and fishermen of the Islands. He said the collaborative wants to conduct business “without disrupting balances that are already in place.” It will sell fishermen’s catches to various food providers, but not to individuals, to avoid being a competitor to local markets.