Well, I've got to say I walked out of the RIMFC meeting last night shaking my head and woke up early this morning with a sizable bug up my arse.
DZ did the right thing trying to work out an amicable agreement with the guys who are setting their pots and traps in that area rather than get DEM involved from the git-go. The fisheries boards, both state and federal, are well-known for applying the same commercial mentality Mr. Sandman describes regarding what is supposed to be a "shared" resource - that view being that their rights supercede ours.
And if there was ever any doubt about it last night, the Chairman of the Council, who is XO of RI DEM - in response to DZ's letter and comments from George Allen - said, and I quote, "We can't tell these guys what kind of gear they can use or where they can put it."
I beg your ******** pardon?
I said to RIROCKHOUND, isn't that
precisely what they do with fish traps and gill nets? Steve Medeiros, RISAA's president and a Council member, said the same thing from his position on the board.
At this point, I hope Dennis will be successful in working out a gentlemen's agreement to resolve the situation before it gets tangled in the bias of the regulatory agencies.
We'll see, I suppose.
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