A fish story with a bad ending

Good evening all, Angry Webmaster here. I’ve been looking around for something to write about today and drawing a blank. We have the predictable failure of the “Super Committee” which couldn’t agree on the time of day, The Obama administration ordering an insurance company to roll back a rate increase because “It’s to high!” Then I saw this one.

From the Cape Cod Times:

New Bedford fisherman forced to give up 800-pound tuna

Hmm, this sounded interesting so I started reading.

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.

Now THAT is one heck of a fish! A catch like that could potentially net the boat owner major money.

“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.

So he appears to have followed all the laws, acquired to permits and promptly notified the appropriate agencies. Sounds good so far.

Highly prized in Japan, a 754­pound specimen fetched a record price at a Tokyo auction in January this year, selling for nearly $396,000. These fish can grow to enormous size. The world record for a bluefin, which has stood since 1979, was set when a 1,496-pound specimen was caught off Nova Scotia.

You can see why the crew and owner were so excited. This probably would have made Christmas for everyone. According to the story, the weather started going bad so the boat put into Provincetown. However you just KNOW this isn’t going to end well.

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.

I suspect you could hear the jaws of the crew hit the deck 2 miles away when they were told this.

“They said it had to be caught with rod and reel,” a frustrated Rafael said.“We didn’t try to hide anything. We did everything by the book. Nobody ever told me we couldn’t catch it with a net.”

And there’s the mistake the crew made. The thought that since they followed the rules as they were told to, they would be OK. Little did they know they were dealing with bureaucrats who’s sole purpose in life is screwing people over. Mr. Rafael is furious and frustrated.

“What are we supposed to do?” he asked. “They said they were going to give me a warn­ing,” Rafael said. “I think I’m going to surrender all my tuna permits now. What good are they if I can’t catch them?”

Is it any wonder that this country is collapsing? These idiots can only justify their existence by ruining the lives of basically hard working people. There are people who have been thrown in jail for using the wrong shipping labels. The information was correct, but it wasn’t the “Approved” label. Is it any wonder people want to take the guns out and burn Washington to the ground?

I’m no expert on this type of law but I would suggest Mr. Rafael contact a lawyer who is and find out just what the laws are. It’s to late to get the fish back now. I’m sure it’s been disposed of onto the various agencies dinner plates. He might be able to get some sort of satisfaction, perhaps getting some money or at least getting some tinpot dictator of a bureaucrat fired.

Naaa, that won’t happen.

That is all

~The Angry Webmaster~

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