Diver vs. Lobsterman war around Magnolia?

[localdivah]

Yesterday, a couple buddies and I went for a dawn dive at Magnolia. Aside from the rough surf, all was well until my buddy came out of his second dive with his float sans flag. Turns out that he felt a tug and then looked up to see a boat above him. By the time he got there, his entire flag shaft had been snapped.

I noticed 3 newish-looking lobster pots underwater that had been severed and wonder if there's been a war recently at Magnolia? About 2 months ago, I had a boat drag me for awhile. I expected it at Lane's, but was surprised at Magnolia and especially this late in the season with so few traps left.

He did place a complaint with the Harbormaster and Coast Guard (not sure about local police and EP). If anyone has similar run-ins, try to get a boat number or at least make a formal complaint so that we can build a documented case and put a little pressure on before the next diver gets hurt.

On a side note, I took a few weeks off from lobstering and observed a couple things:
* Far fewer eggers -- wonder if females have dropped them already this time in the season
* More shedders and softies, often not hiding concealed, but more just sticking in between rocks and mostly barely responsive. I don't like taking them because they don't often survive the ride home
* Far higher yield -- one friend mentioned catching 8 keepers on a dive last week, and we checked the site out -- sure enough, they were on parade. First time I've hit the limit on a shore dive.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has noticed seasonal changes in behavior similar to this.

Louie

 

[Narcosis67]

where my lobster louie? Thanks for the info on the flag incident. I talk to a women that had her flag ripped off and pole snap. She actually got the boat numbers and has a witness. This all took place at lanes cove.

 

[matt_unique]

If it get's bad enough we'll need to dive in shifts. One group dives and the other groups waits on shore with a video camera.

--Matt

 

[johlar]

You really should document the complaint with the Coast Guard, the Harbormaster and the EP. Enough reported incidents like these will at least cause people to look into the issue.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

I've never had a problem. But when we dive with our club, we usually have a dozen people, & almost always someone on shore