To make sure the Fishermen’s Alliance has staff to provide consistent, professional representation for Cape Cod fishermen, the nonprofit launched a $2.5 million endowment campaign.
CEO John Pappalardo announced the endowment at the 22nd annual Hookers Ball, the non-profit’s largest fundraiser, which took place in August. The event overall raised $530,000 with $380,000 raised during the fund-a-need which will go to the endowment, and bringing the total raised for the endowment to $1.1 million.
“Cape Cod’s fishing industry has been facing challenges for decades: a warming ocean and shifting fish populations, industrial fishing interests, high permit costs and constantly changing state and federal regulations,” he said. “Your support will enable the Fishermen’s Alliance to continue to fight to protect Cape Cod’s special fishing heritage, our treasured marine environment and the future of our region’s small-boat commercial fishing industry.”
Andy Baler got involved with the Fishermen’s Alliance in the early 1990s, when it was “the Hook” and he was selling and buying a lot of fish.
“We realized that regulations were running us out of the business we so dearly loved and they were not written to help a fishery stock or help fishermen,” said Baler, a Fishermen’s Alliance board member who owns Bluefins Sushi and Sake Bar. Local fishermen started to go to regulatory meetings to protect their livelihoods, protect the Cape.
“We formed an association and we found it was an amazing thing, by coming together as a group … they listened and we found that we got a seat at the table.”
Over the years, that seat has gotten increasingly important and the work increasingly time-consuming.
Staff at the Fishermen’s Alliance spends hundreds of hours a year at meetings, bringing concerns and ideas to decision makers. The endowment will ensure that work continues. To learn more about the capital campaign, Charting Our Course for the Future, click here or watch the video.
