Overheard on VHF channel 16...Just like your good neighbors, "Whitefish Draggers Are There."
The rest of the story is available in the 'comments' section, so read on.
Keep yer head down and yer flippers wet.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Breaking News...Local Draggers Gun Down Cod Pot Buoys
Overheard on VHF channel 16...Just like your good neighbors, "Whitefish Draggers Are There."
The rest of the story is available in the 'comments' section, so read on.
Keep yer head down and yer flippers wet.
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29 comments:
Topaz and Marcy J drag fag shooters. Silvia Star and Mariah Dawn's buoys.
Anybody else losing gear?
Are you saying they shot the bouys or towed over them?
Rifle fire.
You would have to be pretty close to hit a buoy from a moving boat. How do you figure they were gunning for them?
Recovered bullets from buoys. Bragging about it on the radio.
Did you ask them about it?
Why don't you?
I'm sure I will if I get a chance. Is it illegal to shoot buoys?
Confess and we'll give you a chance to find out.
I can give you the recording
And all I have to do is...
Come on, post it as a wav or other file.
No deals with the Devil.
Mike McElhaney and Jason Chandler skippers of record owners tried to bury this but did compensate for lost pots. The bullies on the block work without meaningful oversite at all others expense. Game on.
How much gear was lost/compensated for?
Since this incident is one of the times the perps are caught red handed, we are left to wonder how many other strings of gear they have run over and shot. There is another incident recently but until further details become available, we don't want to speculate. How wide spread is this practice by the drag fleet? We suspect it is common, and unobserved, usually. Just like the wasting of our resources through intentional and criminal neglect.
Topaz DID NOT shoot at any bouys.
Topaz radioed the Marcy J to "shoot the divers" so the Silvia Star would have a hard time recovering the trailers. Aiding and abetting in the commission of the crime of destroying another vessel's gear, nevertheless.
While we appreciate all the concern, please don't exaggerate the details or embellish your comments with incorrect information.
We do not appreciate our boat name being bandied around when the facts are mingled with distortion. Thanks for all the concern, but this situation has been addressed.
First of all, for those of you who like to embellish the facts, get your stories straight. There was only one crew member who was practicing with his new rifle and did hit a bouy. The person who owned the pot (but lost no gear) was immediately apologized to AND compensated for the loss of the bouys. A considerable amoount for a couple of bouys by the way. It is not common practice for draggers to destroy others gear, but it is extraordinarily common for non draggers to bombard draggers with damanging accusations they can, even when they get their knowledge second hand or have no knowlege at all.
I would like to add, for all of you fishermen who live in glass houses, you shouldn't throw stones. I'm sure if your every radio transmission was overheard (or taped) you wouldn't be proud of everything you said. If there was visual on all of your boats you wouldn't be proud of everything that was seen either. There are all kinds of things going on that don't get this attention, by every boat and every type of gear, but you just want to focus on the draggers. If I posted half the crap I knew about what was going on on the boats that I know of, most of the fleet would be paying fines to NMFS, and the other half would be in jail. By the way, blackmail is a FELONY, and you know who I'm talking to.
Dear 'First of all' and 'I would like to add' funny how the criminal mind always rationalizes that everybody is just like them if the truth were known. The truth is known and you are wrong. Try some other way to explain your behavior.
Just to note "anonymous" does not know ALL the facts either. While we don't want the facts exaggerated... the truth should not be dismissed either. Gear was lost, multiple bouys were shot, and if "Anonymous" would share what he knows with NMFS... we would not need fleet reductions, extreme regulations, or resource entitlements. BTW... funny everyone hits their identity.
I'm interested to hear more about the blackmail anonymous speaks of. Sounds intriguing.
@Tholepin et al. Interesting story. Could you send more info to amanda@alaskadispatch.com? Thanks.
If the actions of one idiot deckhand are to represent the entire trawl fleet, then it is only fair that the idiot deckhand who threatened a trawler's wife (because of this "story") represent the entire long-line fleet.
But this blog isn't about fair...or true.
I'm not a dragger & I'm not defending it but I am friends with Jason Chandler and his name should not be on here. He's a good guy and a respected fisherman. I know what happened that day, and I'm a little disappointed in my pal Ron for not setting the story straight.
Jason does a good job talking at the council meetings and maybe that's why he's on here but he didn't try to trash anyone's gear.
I get what your trying to do with this blog with the bycatch numbers and stuff but I think you've gone a little off course with this one. Crew members do dumb stuff- a lot.
Good job, blame the crew.
Talked to a trawl crew a month ago who had just quit a local drag boat. First tow of the trip (unobserved) had 20,000 of halibut. When they set back to tow the same grounds he asked the captain why they didn't move.
Was told "won't be that much halibut on the next tow in the same spot and less the tow after that"
Yea, blame the crew for the new observer program too. No more coverage for the trawlers but lots for the little boats. Thant's the ticket.
@"If the actions" and "I am not a dragger"; admiralty law generally finds that the owner/operator of a vessel is responsible for the actions of that vessel's crew, when at sea and occassionally when ashore. Claims that 'the crew did it' won't hold up in court. Actions of the crew are the vessel's actions, especially when the owner/operator is aware of them or 'should have known.'
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