AH Party boat catch sale

[Captain Rich]

We had an incident at our dock about 3 years ago, a young man got off of a scallop boat down the street and the captain had given him a bag of scallops as partial wages. He went from dock to dock selling the scallops so he could get a hot meal and a carton of cigarettes before he sailed again. The CO's found out, tailed him from the street, and after everything was finished they bagged him AND contacted all the captains he had been in contact with. If the captains weren't on their boats, they were called at their business numbers (remember all the dock signs with phone numbers ?? so did the CO's). The captains were threatened with fines, loss of federal permits, loss of captains license, real strong arm tactics. This was all over buying a pound of scallops from a kid who wanted to work and needed a hot meal! One of my neighbors threatened to return the scallops to the CO after he finished digesting them! The BS went on for a couple of days. So the short answer is no, it's illegal, but there are still people who need and want to work for a living and will do it if they can get away with it.

[joerosa1]

I remember the days as a kid in Sheepshead Bay; we had people waiting for the boat to come in at they dock offering us $1 for 4 or 5 mackerel. The crew also had fish lined up on the boat deck for sale.

[RussH]

Originally Posted by joerosa1

I remember the days as a kid in Sheepshead Bay; we had people waiting for the boat to come in at they dock offering us $1 for 4 or 5 mackerel. The crew also had fish lined up on the boat deck for sale.

Yep I remember my grandfather used to take me down to sheepshead when the boats would come in to buy flounder. That was the early 80s. My guess is the good old days ended when cell phones started coming with cameras.

[NoLimit]

Tell your friend to get out of the hirise and get on the party boat.

Originally Posted by bulletbob

I saw the mates on a blackfish boat keeping their personal fish alive in a big 55 gallon plastic drum with sea water running into and water running out of the drum the entire trip via the deck hose... Only reason for that would be for sale to buyers that want live blackfish... I didn't think much about it, I figured it was their fish and they could dispose of them any way they wanted.... bob

If the fish are legal there's nothing you can do as far as fishing being retained and kept alive. I witnessed a boat next to us this fall with three guys fishing. They had their live well running the entire time and every short tog went in it and I will tell you they absolutely loaded up with short fish. Called DEC number I have but no one responded. Many of those fish end up in New York's Chinese markets and restaurants. It's a huge problem for this fishery. Even if the fish are of legal size, it's illegal to sell your catch without a proper commercial license. Party boats turning a blind eye to their mates engaging in this practice shouldn't be if they don't possess a license. I don't think it's wrong to ask a mate on board to see their license. If they don't produce one, a call to DEC or F&G is warranted.

Originally Posted by 1captainron

Haven't sold fish in many years.... Shit, were lucky if the customers catch enough to go home with! Most boats today don't allow the crew to fish anymore, cuts into the "CUSTOMER" Service part of the ticket...

Capt. Ron,

I agree with your post. There were certain boats however where mates were allowed to fish and it got completely out of hand. I had two experiences on one party boat which were the last two trips I ever had on that boat years ago. Boat is no longer around and for those familiar with the industry you'll know who I'm talking about.

First incident was a flounder trip. I was fishing off the stern and had a good bite going in front of the Ammo pier when it wasn't off limits. A bite which was the first bite of any significance all day since up until that time it had been extremely slow. A commercial clammer came by who shucked his catch at sea and when he passed us he dropped all the clam shells right behind the boat, in the area I was fishing. He knew the mates on board which is why he did what he did. About 5 minutes later, the mate adjusts the anchor line enough so that the area the shells were dropped moved to mid ship / bow area, which is where all the mates were fishing. As soon as they made the adjustment, the bite in back died and the mates started hammering flounder on the side. And they adjusted the anchor in a way gesturing among themselves where they didn't want anyone knowing they made the adjustment. To add insult to injury, they sold their catch when we got back to the dock. This was quite a few years ago when selling your catch was allowed and a common practice. Couldn't believe what happened and even more shocked the captain was obviously aware.

Second incident was a fluke trip on the same boat. Had my two young kids and my father on board. Every mate on an absolutely railed boat was fishing. If you had a fluke to the surface, you had to wait a few minutes before anyone showed up. It got so bad fares started netting other fares fluke. It was completely ridiculous. And every mate was high as a kite, smoking pot on the upper deck the entire trip. The captain himself, whose daughter was paralyzed in a freak and tragic accident on the party boat docks in Belmar a few years prior, was always strung out in the end. Sad to see what happened to this party boat since it used to be a class operation.

My point is the mates fishing on this boat put their personal agendas before the paying fares and the captain condoned that behavior. It turned into a zoo type atmosphere and I never sailed with them again. As a matter of fact, their business went to hell in a hand basket. This is where unfortunately a few bad apples spoil it for everyone. I've also witnessed many times the exact opposite when it was slow, a mate picking up a rod and if he caught fish he'd offer it to customers who weren't catching. A really great thing to see. The captain ultimately sets the tone on his boat and personally I don't think there's anything wrong with a mate wetting a line when it's slow but sometimes it's a tough practice to allow without paying fares feeling slighted.

[bowhunter]

Sounds like the same boat that used to catch 5 short bass on Wednesday night and it would turn in to 35 with 15 keepers in Fridays paper.

[gypsy]

Back in the 1960's in the winter my parents used to throw all the kids in the car, drive to Belmar and wait for the party boats to come in. The guys would line up the fish they wanted to sell on the dock and people would buy fish off them to help offset the cost of the trip, was a lot of fun, and got fresh fish at the same time! Too bad they stopped that practice, heard it's against the law, why? Seems stupid to me, it's not like they were making a living at it.

[CadiShackFishing]

I remember the days of coming back from blue fish trips and people waiting for the boat in order to buy some blues, it was like 2bucks a fish. Now its just the government wanting their 2 cents worth.

[1captainron]

One reason not for sale....It's not FDA approved!! LOL
All the farm raised, chemical loaded shit coming in this country from every where, putting the local fishermen out of business and it's not FDA approved to sell FRESH FISH, what a joke.......Enjoy your tasty Talapia.