Response from The Director of RIDEM

[bridgebastard]

I am one of the many commercial fishermen working on these herring.To those of you that dislike it well dont use bait anymore. I supply fresh brined herring to many local bait shops. I am also an advocate for removing these vessels from state waters. I phoned director Coit,Mark Gibson,and Robert Ballou the day we saw these vessels . The next call went out as my captain and our crew watched one of these vessels destroy a local commercial vessels gear,entangle said vessel with another , and endanger the lives of the crew on two vessels. We would have been the first responders to this if the two vessels had capsized . We as commercial fishermen have helped to coordinate rescues,and save lives. We are all in this together, try not to put all commercial fishermen in the same category. Many of us are conservation minded recreational fishermen as well.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by bridgebastard

I am one of the many commercial fishermen working on these herring.To those of you that dislike it well dont use bait anymore. I supply fresh brined herring to many local bait shops. I am also an advocate for removing these vessels from state waters. I phoned director Coit,Mark Gibson,and Robert Ballou the day we saw these vessels . The next call went out as my captain and our crew watched one of these vessels destroy a local commercial vessels gear,entangle said vessel with another , and endanger the lives of the crew on two vessels. We would have been the first responders to this if the two vessels had capsized . We as commercial fishermen have helped to coordinate rescues,and save lives. We are all in this together, try not to put all commercial fishermen in the same category. Many of us are conservation minded recreational fishermen as well.

On the contrary, I, for one, am in favor of you guys. You are a fellow Rhode Islander who makes his living on the water. I am in your camp and so are most of the guys on this board.
The purpose of my email to Director Coit was not at all about you guys. It was about the out of state 200' pair trawlers that are taking your livelihood away from you.
We are on your side.

[piemma]

Don't buy any salmon or Pacific yellow-tail or Cod or even fluke for that matter because I think they are all caught predominately by net.

[bridgebastard]

ecduzitgood.have you ever fished on a dragger or gillnetter, i find it interesting the ignorance of some people, do you do any catch and release fishing,if so you also kill fish ,the vessel i work on employs 6 people throughout the year and supports six families.We are a small vessel,50 ft,made out of wood, we also rod and reel commercially on the same vessel.There is a big misconception about large mesh gillnetting and stripers. We see three to four bass in the gear every year thats it. We dont set on stripers its foolish. About the waste in the dragger fishery absolutely true, however there have been modifications to the gear that have lessened the enviromental impact. Do some research and check out squid gear with 12 inch hanging chains. Many assume we tow up millions of stripers but that is not the case. Those fish to the south were killed by large factory purse seiners seining menhaden.I get tired of the ignorance and condemnation of something when its only ignorance and misinformation. We would take anyone of you fishing to see what we do.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by bridgebastard

,the vessel i work on employs 6 people throughout the year and supports six families.We are a small vessel,50 ft,made out of wood, we also rod and reel commercially on the same vessel.

BB:
Thats the crux. Most people here would agree we'd love to see more, smaller, local boats rather than the pairs!

And if you work on the boat I think you work on, talking to your deckmate, I got a real education in how clean the large mesh fishery was, when set by a responsible captain/crew!!!

[bridgebastard]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

BB:
Thats the crux. Most people here would agree we'd love to see more, smaller, local boats rather than the pairs!

And if you work on the boat I think you work on, talking to your deckmate, I got a real education in how clean the large mesh fishery was, when set by a responsible captain/crew!!!

thanks for that. We are one of the hardest working crews in the point.