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Posted by seahunt on March 24, 2007 at 07:14:47:
In Reply to: Wow posted by Pat Riot on March 21, 2007 at 13:49:38:
I looked at that post again and I have to wonder. Ray hasn't told his side of the story, but then again he never does. Now,
I've never met Ray, but I know his reputation for being both
knowledgable and cantankerous. I have a bone to pick with him
if I wanted to, but it had nothing to do with boating. Still, I read the article again and I see something interesting. Since I
don't know just what happened, I'm not justifying anything.
Conflicts arise from misunderstandings. Ray obviously knew of a spot in SM Bay where there is a fair amount of reef structure
over an area. That's rare in SM Bay. He decided that was where he was taking the divers. He gets there and there are a number
of -- live -- boats there. They are not anchored like a dive boat does or a fishing boat on a reef. They are moving all over
the reef between their trap floats. They have taken over the area. This is very different from a dive boat that anchors in
one place.
I've often been in groups of boats off say Point Loma or the Horseshoe Kelp where the boats are anchored. You judge the
distance that the other boats have put between them and you anchor at the same distance. It's just courtesy. I've never
been somewhere where a group of boaters have taken over an area.
Hoopnetting is new. I've already heard of conflicts with divers. They drop their nets with floats above them and they
don't want other boats coming into the area. They are there for the duration and heck, you may not even know they are there as
you pull in looking for a place to do a dive, but don't doubt that they will let you know.
So here comes Cap'n Grumpy who wants to anchor. If it was another dive boat or even fishing boat anchored there, he'd go
to the other side of the reef and drop his anchor or maybe he'd wait for them to leave or maybe he'd go elsewhere. Instead
here's a number of guys in live boats that have staked out an area. The ever charming and diplomatic Cap'n Grumpy shows up
and the rest of the story is a post on a BBS. If it was the other way around and the dive boat was anchored when the hoop
netters got there, they would see the anchored boat and start motoring around, dropping nets at what they figured was a
reasonable distance (maybe). The story on the dive BBS would be about props and divers in the water.
Conflicts at sea over fishing areas are as old as fishing. It got pretty nasty when the new comers (Vietnamese) came into the
Texas fishing grounds. Don't doubt that there will be more conflicts between divers and hoopnetters in the future. It
already happens around Catalina and various breakwalls. We're just gonna have to deal with it.
Just my take on it.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt
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