Blue Heron Bridge Trolls

[Ricardo V.]

Agreed; however, while a spear is a spear is a spear.... The text seems to make a subtle distinction that a hand held spearing device designed and marketed exclusively for the harvesting of Lionfish is one thing, and spears in general are considered something else.... perhaps a speargun, a general pole spear or one that could be used for purposes (other than exclusively harvesting Lionfish. Sometimes these laws don't speak directly to the issue and require some interpretation.

in any case, perhaps there is a good Lawyer that also happens to be a troll, which could decipher if in fact there is a distinct difference being made.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Jenny, are you the one with the white/pink fins?

No. Yellow Jets.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has language as to licensing requirements to harvest Lionfish. Here is a link to the page. Lionfish Recreational Regulations
<snip>
We may just need to do a little Lionfish derby at the bridge amongst a few of us and go clean up the area. Don't want to get anyone of us in trouble, but don't want to just talk about it either. Any thoughts?

Aren't enough at the bridge to do a derby. One shows up every so often, it gets removed another one shows up, gets removed.. etc..

From your link:
"Spears may not be used:

• Within 100 yards of a public swimming beach, any commercial or public fishing pier, or any part of a bridge from which public fishing is allowed."

thank you for posting that. quoted so it can be posted again. However a net can be used.

Agreed; however, while a spear is a spear is a spear.... The text seems to make a subtle distinction that a hand held spearing device designed and marketed exclusively for the harvesting of Lionfish is one thing, and spears in general are considered something else.... perhaps a speargun, a general pole spear or one that could be used for purposes (other than exclusively harvesting Lionfish. Sometimes these laws don't speak directly to the issue and require some interpretation.

in any case, perhaps there is a good Lawyer that also happens to be a troll, which could decipher if in fact there is a distinct difference being made.

I think it would come down to the FWC officer at the time of incident and how you handled speaking to them.

On that note, I have seen people diving and looking for lionfish. One guy had a PVC "quiver" and stowed his LF spear there, It was mounted next to his BP/W.. Nice set up..
now to get that one on the west side.. It's been there waaayyyy too oo long..

 

[T.C.]

Agreed; however, while a spear is a spear is a spear.... The text seems to make a subtle distinction that a hand held spearing device designed and marketed exclusively for the harvesting of Lionfish is one thing, and spears in general are considered something else.... perhaps a speargun, a general pole spear or one that could be used for purposes (other than exclusively harvesting Lionfish. Sometimes these laws don't speak directly to the issue and require some interpretation.

in any case, perhaps there is a good Lawyer that also happens to be a troll, which could decipher if in fact there is a distinct difference being made.

Agreed. Tomorrow I shall email Florida DNR and ask if it. After all, I believe spearing Lionfish with a true gun is illegal without a licence, but a polespear is not.

---------- Post added April 8th, 2014 at 07:01 PM ----------

On that note, I have seen people diving and looking for lionfish. One guy had a PVC "quiver" and stowed his LF spear there, It was mounted next to his BP/W.. Nice set up..
now to get that one on the west side.. It's been there waaayyyy too oo long..

Nice. I've got a pipe I'm going to mount like this to my ZooKeeper. I thought about mounting it to the BCD like that, but didn't like the implications of blindly poking around my BCD with sharp things.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Got a point there..


pun intended..

 

[MrChen]

Agreed; however, while a spear is a spear is a spear.... The text seems to make a subtle distinction that a hand held spearing device designed and marketed exclusively for the harvesting of Lionfish is one thing, and spears in general are considered something else.... perhaps a speargun, a general pole spear or one that could be used for purposes (other than exclusively harvesting Lionfish. Sometimes these laws don't speak directly to the issue and require some interpretation.

in any case, perhaps there is a good Lawyer that also happens to be a troll, which could decipher if in fact there is a distinct difference being made.

The next question is, is there anyone here ready to challenge this in court? I'm not. I don't have the time or monetary resources to take on the FWC, which I guarantee will harass you and give a ticket if caught. Even if you do win, how long will it take for all FWC officers to become aware, preventing future tickets? Then when/if you win, will you be on a specific officers radar for future harassment, I mean legal inspections?

 

[mermaid0sea]

If there anywhere i can see a list of night dives. I am kind of lining up my spring and wondered how far in advance shops plan to sponsor these. Thanks if anyone knows.

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[jet126]

If there anywhere i can see a list of night dives. I am kind of lining up my spring and wondered how far in advance shops plan to sponsor these. Thanks if anyone knows.

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Here is the list of Force E dives through September. Pura Vida and some of the other dive shops post about a month or two in advance in the Events section of their FB page.

April 13 sun 7:15-9:15; April 27 sun 7-9
May 13 tues 7:25-9:25; May 27 tues 7:30-9:30
June 12 thur 7:50-9:40; June 26 thur 7:50-9:40
July 11 fri 7:30-9:30; July 25 fri 7:30-9:30
Aug 9 sat 7-9:10; Aug 24 sun 7:30-9:30
Sept 8 mon 7:30-9:30; Sept 22 mon 7-9

 

[mermaid0sea]

Thanks! Really hopping for June 13. I am not superstitious. (knock on wood) ;-)

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---------- Post added April 9th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ----------

Thanks! Really hopping for June 13. I am not superstitious. (knock on wood) ;-)

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Hoping that is... I am literally all thumbs

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[djtimmy77]

June 13 could be tricky due to the tide being so close to 10pm, when you need to be out of the park. A good option is to talk to some of the boats (Pura Vida, Little Deeper, JASA) that do night dives there and see if they would get it on their calendar. You might be able to recruit some of us if there is a minimum # of people you need.

 

[T.C.]

The next question is, is there anyone here ready to challenge this in court? I'm not. I don't have the time or monetary resources to take on the FWC, which I guarantee will harass you and give a ticket if caught. Even if you do win, how long will it take for all FWC officers to become aware, preventing future tickets? Then when/if you win, will you be on a specific officers radar for future harassment, I mean legal inspections?

Excellent point; unless it says it in writing, and you can show that; don't count on the FWC knowing it. In my home state, military is allowed to fish without a license. So there my dad and I are, having a great time when the warden cruises up, and asks for licenses. So I hand over my ID card. He looks confused. So we show him the handbook. It takes that, and him calling his boss on the radio, before he hands back my ID and my dad's license.

That said, I'm not too worried about FWC harrassing me. Helps to live in Georgia.