The Problem of Pot Buoys in Surf Fishing Areas

[Crafty Angler]

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.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Chuck;
we've fought traps in the past, but I think they are regulated differently than all other types of gear; I'm not arguing for the commercial guys but I think that Mark is concerned that it would set a dangerous precedent if they started doing that..

Do any other states deal with this issue? (Mass/Maine?)

[likwid]

Originally Posted by Crafty Angler

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.

Most of the time the only reason they'll move gear is if its deemed a hazard to navigation, even then, they kick and scream while they move it.

Then again up in downeast maine you can navigate by the damn trawls.

[Nebe]

IMO, its slippery road to try to pass a law to get lobstermen to not place pots close to shore... If you look at the flipside, this is just like the proposal to limit shore fishing around fishtraps. We all went ballistic when we heard that, and some of us even said that the fish trap Co's dont own the land or the water that they are on, so why should they have 100% access to it. In a few places that I and my friends fish at there is a huge pot problem and we deal with it by scouting durring the day and then we try to remember where they are.... Sadly, one of my fishing partners lost his biggist fish of the season to a lobster pot...

There could be a comprimise though- lobstermen could at least do trawls with multiple pots to reduce the amount of bouys, or something..

They are lobstering it for $$ and we are fishing for fun, so its a slippery area like Rockhound stated.

[MakoMike]

Crafty,
As I hear it, what Mark said was "I don't think we have the authority to tell these guys what kind of gear to use and where to put it." Someone else on the panel ( I think it was George Allen) noted that "we have the authority to regulate where the fishtraps are, but I'm not sure we can regulate any other type of gear." I was tempted to stand up and say, well a fish pot is just another type of fish trap, but decided the better of it. I think everyone is hoping that this can be settled by mutual agreement rather than by new regulations.