Karl F
06-12-2006, 07:40 AM
todays CCTimes:
June 12, 2006
ANGRY ANGLERS
By PATRICK CASSIDY
STAFF WRITER
The Battle of Bass River Bridge has begun.
Dressed in bright yellow shirts made especially for the occasion, several generations of fishermen participated in a demonstration yesterday to protest the ''no fishing'' signs posted on the span earlier this year.
''It's another access for recreational fishermen taken away for no good reason,'' said Lee Boisvert, owner of Riverview Bait and Tackle and the organizer of the rally.
Boisvert said he has collected between 150 and 200 signatures on a petition protesting the signs. The need to keep the boating channel clear is ''perfectly legitimate and reasonable,'' but a complete ban on fishing from the bridge goes too far, he said.
The Massachusetts Highway Department is responsible for the bridge on Route 28 that stretches between West Dennis and South Yarmouth. The new signs were first posted about two months ago after a former Dennis harbor master expressed concern about fishing lines in the boating channel below the bridge, according to MassHighway spokesman Jon Carlisle.
''From our perspective, we're concerned about traffic passing under the bridge,'' Carlisle said Friday.
''No fishing'' is stenciled on the bridge above the channel but the new signs, which include the words ''from the bridge,'' appear to indicate fishing is banned on the entire span.
Dennis Police Chief Michael Whalen is sympathetic with the feisty fishermen.
''Neither the police department or the harbor master asked for those signs,'' Whalen said. Police had requested that the stenciled prohibition be repainted but they did not feel fishing from other parts of the bridge was a safety issue, he said.
Dennis police are waiting for information from the state about the legal justification for the signs. Until he receives notification that the department is obligated to enforce the prohibition, Dennis police will take no action, Whalen said.
The Yarmouth Board of Selectmen sent a letter to MassHighway last week asking why the signs were posted and under what legal authority.
No one gathered on the bridge yesterday could remember any safety problems connected with fishing on the structure. There is space on both sides of the roadway for cars to pull out of traffic and fishermen said the tradition of fishing from the bridge has gone on for generations.
''I fished here with my grandfather and my father, and I fish here with my kids,'' Michael Healy, 43, of South Yarmouth said shortly before landing the first catch of the day - a small fluke.
Fishing from the bridge is a fun, safe activity for young people who might otherwise get into trouble, Healy added.
Louis MacKeil, a member of the Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club, said the signs show state politicians lack respect for recreational fishermen.
''It's too bad we don't get more support from the people with influence,'' he said.
John Byron III, 13, of West Dennis said the ban on fishing off the bridge is a bad idea. ''A lot of people have been fishing from this bridge for years and generations, and nothing bad has happened,'' he said.
His father, John Byron Jr., said the ban's most immediate affect will be on tourists who ''don't know where they're going.''
The elder Byron said the ban could have a silver lining for locals. Discouraging tourists from dropping lines off the bridge ''keeps them off the good spots,'' he said.
Patrick Cassidy can be reached at pcassidy@capecodonline.com.
(Published: June 12, 2006)
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June 12, 2006
ANGRY ANGLERS
By PATRICK CASSIDY
STAFF WRITER
The Battle of Bass River Bridge has begun.
Dressed in bright yellow shirts made especially for the occasion, several generations of fishermen participated in a demonstration yesterday to protest the ''no fishing'' signs posted on the span earlier this year.
''It's another access for recreational fishermen taken away for no good reason,'' said Lee Boisvert, owner of Riverview Bait and Tackle and the organizer of the rally.
Boisvert said he has collected between 150 and 200 signatures on a petition protesting the signs. The need to keep the boating channel clear is ''perfectly legitimate and reasonable,'' but a complete ban on fishing from the bridge goes too far, he said.
The Massachusetts Highway Department is responsible for the bridge on Route 28 that stretches between West Dennis and South Yarmouth. The new signs were first posted about two months ago after a former Dennis harbor master expressed concern about fishing lines in the boating channel below the bridge, according to MassHighway spokesman Jon Carlisle.
''From our perspective, we're concerned about traffic passing under the bridge,'' Carlisle said Friday.
''No fishing'' is stenciled on the bridge above the channel but the new signs, which include the words ''from the bridge,'' appear to indicate fishing is banned on the entire span.
Dennis Police Chief Michael Whalen is sympathetic with the feisty fishermen.
''Neither the police department or the harbor master asked for those signs,'' Whalen said. Police had requested that the stenciled prohibition be repainted but they did not feel fishing from other parts of the bridge was a safety issue, he said.
Dennis police are waiting for information from the state about the legal justification for the signs. Until he receives notification that the department is obligated to enforce the prohibition, Dennis police will take no action, Whalen said.
The Yarmouth Board of Selectmen sent a letter to MassHighway last week asking why the signs were posted and under what legal authority.
No one gathered on the bridge yesterday could remember any safety problems connected with fishing on the structure. There is space on both sides of the roadway for cars to pull out of traffic and fishermen said the tradition of fishing from the bridge has gone on for generations.
''I fished here with my grandfather and my father, and I fish here with my kids,'' Michael Healy, 43, of South Yarmouth said shortly before landing the first catch of the day - a small fluke.
Fishing from the bridge is a fun, safe activity for young people who might otherwise get into trouble, Healy added.
Louis MacKeil, a member of the Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club, said the signs show state politicians lack respect for recreational fishermen.
''It's too bad we don't get more support from the people with influence,'' he said.
John Byron III, 13, of West Dennis said the ban on fishing off the bridge is a bad idea. ''A lot of people have been fishing from this bridge for years and generations, and nothing bad has happened,'' he said.
His father, John Byron Jr., said the ban's most immediate affect will be on tourists who ''don't know where they're going.''
The elder Byron said the ban could have a silver lining for locals. Discouraging tourists from dropping lines off the bridge ''keeps them off the good spots,'' he said.
Patrick Cassidy can be reached at pcassidy@capecodonline.com.
(Published: June 12, 2006)
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