Annual seafood festival offers look at NH8217s fishing industry
Four hundred years of local seafood and New Hampshire fishing will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 24, during the third annual Fish and Lobster Festival at Prescott Park.
Otherwise known as “Fishtival,” the event is organized by a variety of nonprofit organizations, local fishermen and community groups, and seeks to highlight the importance of protecting New Hampshire’s small-boat, commercial fishing fleet.
Visitors to the festival, which takes place from noon to 4 p.m., can walk the decks of local fishing boats, taste freshly-landed local seafood, learn to identify and prepare local fish, investigate the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and watch an on-location “Seafood Throwdown” cooking competition, which has become one of the most popular parts of the festival.
Musical performances, touch tanks and games also will be offered.
The festival was launched in 2009 in response to new challenges in the fishing industry posed by changes in federal regulations and seeks to strengthen the connection between fishermen and the local community, festival organizers said.
Seacoast Local is a prime sponsor of the event, and is working to educate consumers about how much fish caught by New Hampshire boats ends up out of state and how consumers can help shift that balance.
Padi Anderson is the wife of a local fishermen and cofounder of Granite State FISH, an organization formed also as an educational tool to promote New Hampshire fishermen and a sponsor of the event. Anderson said Fishtival is a wonderful way for the New Hampshire sector to launch itself, talk about current rules and regulations, why “who fishes matters” and why it is important that the small boat fleet in New Hampshire is supported, not only for the fishermen but for consumers.
Sectors are non-profit organizations that have the right to harvest a share of what fisheries scientists determine to be a “sustainable total allowable catch” of up to 14 different groundfish stocks found throughout the northeast United States ocean territory.
“It is important as community outreach and education,” Anderson said of Fishtival. “This event is one way to get the message across and is a fun way to do it.”
Visitors will get a chance to see where their seafood comes from, and learn about different types of fish they would not necessarily be familiar with or exposed to. Visitors can also talk with local fishermen about the fish they catch, the gear they use, the different types of boats and the seasonality of fish.
Entertainment and activities for children are also part of the festival. Seafood samplings is $4 each. Additional information is available at prescottpark.org.
