I went to school for Marine Biology, and until I switched to the pharma industry I made the bulk of my bread for the National Marine Fisheries Association (NMFS, a division of NOAA). It was decent money, I met some really neat and nice people, saw a lot of shit that many people have never seen, got a LOT of stories, and also just living on a work boat offshore for weeks at a time, there is NOTHING else like that.
I never regret changing careers the work was brutal, dangerous, dirty, cold, wet, and monotonous…but the big reason was I was doing evil.
Boat owner Rafael, a big player in the local fishing industry, was elated when the crew of his 76-foot steel dragger Apollo told him they had unwittingly captured a giant bluefin tuna in their trawl gear while fishing offshore.
“They didn’t catch that fish on the bottom,” he said. “They probably got it in the midwater when they were setting out and it just got corralled in the net. That only happens once in a blue moon.”
Rafael, who in the last four years purchased 15 tuna permits for his groundfish boats to cover just such an eventuality, immediately called a bluefin tuna hot line maintained by fishery regulators to report the catch.
When the weather offshore deteriorated, the Apollo decided to seek shelter in Provincetown Harbor on Nov. 12. Rafael immediately set off in a truck to meet the boat…However, when Rafael rolled down the dock in Provincetown there was an unexpected and unwelcome development. The authorities were waiting. Agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement informed him they were confiscating his fish — all 881 pounds of it.
Even though the catch had been declared and the boat had a tuna permit, the rules do not allow fishermen to catch bluefin tuna in a net…“I think I’m going to surrender all my tuna permits now. What good are they if I can’t catch them?”
I do know I met Mr. Rafael while working the docks of New Bedford and he was a REALLY nice guy (and as a Fed I didn’t hold it against somebody if they expressed some hostility for my employer) I believe I shipped out on one or two of his boats, but in the hundreds of trips I made, most of the boats are a blur to me. I will also say that every harbor has one or two guys like Mr. Rafael who own a lot of boats and infrastructure, and I must say Carlos Rafael always seemed to be in good standing with his employ. Compare that with Bob Brown (The fella portrayed by Michael Ironsides in the Perfect Storm film) who even for a man who’s been dead for several years people always seem to find a point to mention how hard he’d run is crews, and how big his cut off the top would be from the catch.
Now what I find interesting about this story is that Carlos Rafael is not some dumb yokel. He’s one of the biggest name in one of the biggest fishing Ports in America. So he bought a Tuna permit for his dragger boat. Of all my trips I’ve only been on one boat where they set the nets (in this case a gill netter) and then broke out the rods to nail a few more fish (BTW that captain handed me a rod too and we NAILED some monster cod for about two hours…would have been an awesome day if it wasn’t February and about -20 outside. Every other boat didn’t have a rod on board, or did just in case a bored crew member decided to toss a line over the rail. Certainly this boat in question did NOT have the hook-and-line gear to land a tuna of that size.
So why did he have the permits? That’s big money right there. I suspect it was glossed over that the tuna could only be landed in such-and-such a way.
Yeah overall NOAA is an evil organization. They constantly cook up Global Warming bullshit studies, as well as studies of declining fish stocks and toxic effects of various industry. They do this simply so their budget will be bigger next year, and they know if they told the truth people would be laid off as there is no need for a massive agency looking at a sustainable resource.
I’m glad I give mice cancer now. At least I know I’m doing good!
I read that as catching tuna illegally will cause global warming and cancer. I’m gonna make a f-ing sign and start protesting.
I’m gonna eat a fucking tuna just to turn those bastards into poop!
So You became a Traitor and Quit your Post against those who would Rape Mother Gaia, eh Comrade? Tell me, should the Central Committee send you to the Re-Education Camps, or just straight to the Mines to work off your Crimes against the People? What’s That? You’re a Pro-Gun Blogger!? Comrade Sergeant, get a Firing Squad together immediately and execute this Enemy of the State!
LOL! I gotta spend every day looking over my shoulders for those black helicopters!
I kind of wonder what form of “confiscation” will be used: grilled, or just go right for sushi?
Seriously, this is a microcosim of what’s wrong with our tax and regulate government: mindless zombie devotion to the rules. Had they let Mr. Rafael keep that fish, he could have turned a nice profit, and the .GOV would continue to get revenue by way of selling more permits- and the tuna would wind up in bellies around the world- everyone wins.
But instead, because of mindless zombieism, in the future the .GOV loses out on revenue because Mr. Rafael won’t renew his permits, and any future accidentaly netted tunas wind up tossed right back into the ocean. Add up thousands of these little bits of mindless governmental regulatory zombieism, and you get a big part of our current trouble right there.
Yep, and those tunas will be dead as they’re flipped over the rail.
Tho I will point out that there was a one-fish-per-trip limit on Atlantic Halibut. We always caught 2 or none…never more. (I suspect the guys knew where they were, and didn’t chase them, but sometimes you’ll come across a rogue patch)
The largest halibut would go on the ice, and the smaller would be steaked up and fed to the crew. Illegal, but I’d rather a dead fish get enjoyed than junked, especially when the guys were AMAZINGLY responsible.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. What else are you going to do with it?
which the crew without the permit, or the feds?
I suspect the Feds just sold the fish and put the cash in Escrow until the case is dismissed by a nanny-state Masshole Judge.
The tuna would be steaked and hidden.
My dad is on the board for a local sailing club. Sometime last year they were told that they had to start applying for permits to hold their races. These events have been going on for 60+ years,by. The coast guard. The reason, some regulation by homeland security about permits for events on navigable water ways. The cost 0 but they are never processed on time. The penalty $1500 per event.
Another way the beurocrats are taking liberty and freedom through fiat.
Think about that next time the boy scout troop goes canoeing. If the felt like it they could charge you $1500 for failure to get permits.
I’m against the commercial fishing permits not because of the idea of it but how much the feds have ruined the system.
Still permits for gatherings and events strike me as a serious 1st Amendment violation, and I don’t know why we keep putting up with it.
Here’s the conclusion that I have come to: every Fed agency is evil. Every one. All they do is steal money from us at gunpoint and then piss it away on things that they insist are for our own good. And when they just take the money and piss it away, that’s bad enough. But in this instance they compound the sin by creating more hassle.
As Tam says, Washington is just a mindless monster that consumes cash and shits out red tape and misery.
I couldn’t agree more, George. They’re all self-serving assholes who serve to self-serve themselves, and we get to pay for it!