Menemsha is a small

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

located in the town of Chilmark on the island of Martha's Vineyard in

Dukes County Dukes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,600, making it the second-least populous county in Massachusetts. Its county seat is Edgartown. Dukes County comprises the Viney ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is located on the east coast of Menemsha Pond, adjacent to the opening into the

Vineyard Sound Vineyard Sound is the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean which separates the Elizabeth Islands and the southwestern part of Cape Cod from the island of Martha's Vineyard, located offshore from the state of Massachusetts in the United States. To the w ...

on the pond's northern end. The village's historic

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

serves as the point of departure for local fishermen, some from multi-generational fishing families, as well as charter boats to the

Elizabeth Islands The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard, from which they are ...

and elsewhere. Besides charter fishing and cruises, other amenities are the public beach adjacent to the harbor and the bicycle ferry across Menemsha Pond to Aquinnah. Menemsha is the location of a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

station,

Coast Guard Station Menemsha United States Coast Guard Station Menemsha is a United States Coast Guard station located in Menemsha, Massachusetts, within the town of Chilmark. Primarily a Search and Rescue unit, other activities include Law Enforcement in commercial fisheri ...

, and was once known as Menemsha Creek. It was the shooting background for the fictional "Amity Island" of Steven Spielberg's 1975 film ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''.

Notes

Beaches of Massachusetts Fishing communities in the United States Geography of Martha's Vineyard Landforms of Dukes County, Massachusetts Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Chilmark, Massachusetts Villages in Dukes County, Massachusetts Villages in Massachusetts {{USCG-stub