As part of its mission to protect Nantucket Sound in perpetuity, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound continues its free monthly educational series—A Celebration of Nantucket Sound (ACONS)—on Thursday, August 19 at 6 p.m. with guest speaker Randall Sherman, Vice President of the Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club and Chairman of the Cape Cod Salties Foundation. For this webinar, Randall will be discussing the importance of Nantucket Sound to the fishing industry both recreational and commercial. Various fishing methods and general areas and types of fishing will be presented. The webinar is sponsored by the Osterville Anglers’ Club.
Randall Sherman is a lifelong resident of Cape Cod and retired firefighter. He has been a member of the Cape Cod Salties for 15 years and has fished in Cape Cod waters since childhood. The Cape Cod Salties work to share information, educate the public and advocate for the marine environment. The Cape Cod Salties Foundation raises funds for scholarships and marine enhancement projects, such as the recent deployment of three barge loads of granite and concrete to add to the Yarmouth Tire Fishing Reef site. They have also annually helped clean out valuable herring runs, and participated in Cape Cod Canal and beach cleaning projects.
A live Q&A with Randall and Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound President Audra Parker will follow the presentation. Registration is free to the public at: https://tinyurl.com/SOS-Fishing
“Nantucket Sound is the heart and soul of the Cape and Islands,” says the Alliance’s President and CEO Audra Parker. “The ACONS educational program celebrates the values that make this national treasure worthy of protection. The monthly webinars, filled with research, first-hand experience, and story-telling, promote the Sound’s identity, support its preservation, and encourage continued environmental stewardship of this special place.”
The free virtual ACONS series—hosted on Zoom—celebrates the Sound’s history, environment, arts, and contribution to the regional economy with presentations by local and national experts. Past webinar topics have included: the history of Nantucket Sound lighthouses, the giant squid—one of the Sound’s most fascinating creatures, the positive impact that the Sound has on our regional Blue Economy, the tribal history of Nantucket Sound, a history of shipwrecks in the Sound, and historic sites surrounding the Sound. More information can be found at www.saveoursound.org/acons. The September installment will feature Seth Engelbourg, Naturalist Educator and Program Manager at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation, he will be talking about the birds found in and around Nantucket Sound on Thursday, September 30th at 6 p.m. Information on the ACONS initiative, including registration information, can be found at www.saveoursound.org/acons.
The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is a 501(c)(3) non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the permanent preservation of Nantucket Sound, the historic body of water that lies between Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The goal of the Alliance is to establish the Sound as a protected area to preserve its environment, history, and traditional uses like fishing and recreation while safeguarding it against future inappropriate development.
The Alliance, along with a diverse coalition of stakeholders including environmental groups, tribal entities, municipalities, commercial fishermen, historic preservation groups, chambers of commerce, renewable energy advocates, and others have joined together to introduce federal legislation to protect Nantucket Sound in perpetuity. This federal legislation would designate Nantucket Sound a National Historic Landmark to recognize its historic, environmental, and economic values; prohibit federal industrial development inconsistent with safeguards under state law; protect existing maritime and fishing uses and address threats to water quality, coastal erosion, and habitat degradation.
For more information, please visit www.saveoursound.org.
