Longliners

[Threesenough]

I was amazed at what I saw today during my lunch break. Across the Dania Cut Off Canal from where I work I witnessed a Longliner called the Carol Ann unload a boat full of large fish ( some if not all where Swords.) Some where really good size (maybe two hundred pounds) and other where just pups. They loaded about a dozen fish that I saw into a U-Haul and took off while I was on the phone to the Florida Marine Patrol. The boat is still there, but not much you can do to an empty boat.

The longliners have been coming in this boatyard for years, but this is the first time I have seen them unload anything since longlining was banned a couple years ago.

The response I recieved from the Florida Marine Patrol was that as long as the fish where caught outside the restricted area it was legal to unload them here in Florida. I don't know the regulations, but seems a little fishy to me.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Threesenough

The response I recieved from the Florida Marine Patrol was that as long as the fish where caught outside the restricted area it was legal to unload them here in Florida. I don't know the regulations, but seems a little fishy to me.

Thanks for the report! Which boat yard were they unloading at?

Maybe Ron.38 will chime in, but if they are in our restricted areas, and you see them while we are out in our zones, call authorities via cell phone.

I'll keep my eye open. If we could get a picture of the boat up, that would be great.

[Threesenough]

As you can tell by the number of post I have submited since September, I don't contribute very often. This being said I have no idea how to post a photo. I have a photo of the vessel and would be happy to e-mail it to you.

let me know.

The boat yard is the old Royal Palm Marina, Now operating as V & G Yachtworks

[Threesenough]

I was able to post the photo in the 2004 Gallery. Just about got to the outer limits of my computer knowledge.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Threesenough

I was able to post the photo in the 2004 Gallery. Just about got to the outer limits of my computer knowledge.

Thanks!

To post a picture, you need to upload it to a gallery such as ours here, right click on it, and then copy and past the url in the forum. Once the URL is displayed simply highlight it and click the Img button up top. Hope that helps.

[Ron.38 Special]

Carol Ann is barely making aliving since the closure of the straits.
He now has to run West of Key West, and lines must be out before he gets to the closed line.

He is actually a really nice guy, and just try ing to put some kids thru school.

He deserves a good set since he has been going broke since early summer. He had the same bad run of fish that we had here.

While I loath longliners for what they did in the Straits since mid 70's, they are now the most regulated fleet in the Atlantic. Trust me, its not our guys who are the problem anymore, They are told where they can fish, when they can fish, and nearly what hook they can use, and soon they won't have a choice in that either, NMFS is about to go to all Stainless circle hooks for longliners. They are just looking at the Right vs left offset and a few other things like hook size.

While I personally witnessed that boat kill a ton of pups one day off here, they can't do it anymore, and they don't want a set full of pups anymore than we do.

Trust me, this guy is not one of the enemies. He doesn't catch anymore fish in the Gulf than we do off here. And he wants a healthy population of fish just as much as we do if not more.
Most longliners blame NMFS for promoting longlining then not regulating it. Thats how we ended up with 50 boats working off here in the 70's.

Keep in mind that any permitted longliner now has full Vessel Locating System that NMFS can monitor. They know where every single longliner is at any given minute, including when they are in port.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Ron.38 Special

Trust me, this guy is no one of the enemies. He doesn't catch anymore fish in the Gulf than we do off here.

Thanks for the info Ron!

[Threesenough]

Thanks for the info. I would never want to interfer with anybody legally tring to make ends meet. It's got to be a tough life. My brother in law is a commercial guy up in Maine. Harpooner for Tuna, and a lobster trapper. It is amazing how regulated the commercial fishing industry is here in the States versus other parts of the world. I do feel that sometimes those regulations are misdirected - just my opinion.

I watch the Carol Ann come and go on a regular basis, This was the first time I have seen them unload here since the ban went into effect. Maybe I have just been too busy to notice! I can tell you though that they are very regulated. A couple months back they where escorted in by the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies and they went over the boat with a fine tooth comb. Since the boat went directly back into service, I'm sure it was purely a service call.

Glad to hear he is an upstanding citizen. Maybe I will go across the canal and introduce myself

[Ron.38 Special]

Those guys can tell you things about swordfish that you would never find out without several thousand nights on the water