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Lobster poaching starts early
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@kelemvor
"Unfortunately, you're mistaken. I've got a thread on SB somewhere on this topic. There are several flaws to our dive flag laws.
Firstly, only divers and professional captains with a captains license tend to have any idea what either kind of diver down flag is (US red/white or the blue/white other one). We're a tourism driven state and requiring training would deter tourists from renting boats... you get the idea. Visiting boaters tend to drive over to a dive flag to see what they are. Jet ski renters use them as slalom poles to race around. Some divers (not me) consider a dive flag to be a bigger risk than not having one and choose to ignore the law.
Second, penalties for getting caught is something like a $25 fine.. that's it. I'll have to look it up, but it's so pathetically small as to be only a minor inconvenience for anyone but the lowest of income families. There's no jail time, and it's not going to get you a record. Basically, it's a law that has no teeth.
Third, it's something that is only typically enforced as a "secondary" offense. If you run over a diver who had a flag, you're going to get fined $25 in addition to lawsuits or whatever else comes of it. If nothing happens, law enforcement isn't going to chase down a tourist who got too close to a flag and kept going. If you got targeted for an inspection and so happened to be too near a flag you might get a citation. I don't think LE considers it to be a very big deal.
I had been trying to organize a group to post informative signs at boat docks, but I kind of dropped the ball. I need to get a thousand or so printed and laminated.
Good dive boat captains tend to run interference in order to fend away other boaters from groups of divers, so at least we've got that going for us. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$25.00 Florida dollars?
The fine dose not match the offense .
you stated
I had been trying to organize a group to post informative signs at boat docks, but I kind of dropped the ball. I need to get a thousand or so printed and laminated.
Had Been ??? What happened ?
Such a group is certainly needed in your waters
SDM
kelemv
"Unfortunately, you're mistaken. I've got a thread on SB somewhere on this topic. There are several flaws to our dive flag laws.
Firstly, only divers and professional captains with a captains license tend to have any idea what either kind of diver down flag is (US red/white or the blue/white other one). We're a tourism driven state and requiring training would deter tourists from renting boats... you get the idea. Visiting boaters tend to drive over to a dive flag to see what they are. Jet ski renters use them as slalom poles to race around. Some divers (not me) consider a dive flag to be a bigger risk than not having one and choose to ignore the law.
Second, penalties for getting caught is something like a $25 fine.. that's it. I'll have to look it up, but it's so pathetically small as to be only a minor inconvenience for anyone but the lowest of income families. There's no jail time, and it's not going to get you a record. Basically, it's a law that has no teeth.
Third, it's something that is only typically enforced as a "secondary" offense. If you run over a diver who had a flag, you're going to get fined $25 in addition to lawsuits or whatever else comes of it. If nothing happens, law enforcement isn't going to chase down a tourist who got too close to a flag and kept going. If you got targeted for an inspection and so happened to be too near a flag you might get a citation. I don't think LE considers it to be a very big deal.
I had been trying to organize a group to post informative signs at boat docks, but I kind of dropped the ball. I need to get a thousand or so printed and laminated.
Good dive boat captains tend to run interference in order to fend away other boaters from groups of divers, so at least we've got that going for us. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$25.00 Florida dollars?
The fine dose not match the offense .
you stated
I had been trying to organize a group to post informative signs at boat docks, but I kind of dropped the ball. I need to get a thousand or so printed and laminated.
Had Been ??? What happened ?
Such a group is certainly needed in your waters
SDM
kelemv
Heck we have boat operators who proceed right into the roped off dive park here
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