New Dive Flag Regulations for Cape Ann Area?!?!?!

[scubadobadoo]

"I did a drive by(no weapons involved) today of Lane's(Insane's??) Cove and saw the warning sign about being within 25' of a lobster pot or buoy. At the bottom of the sign(partly obsured) describes this as a town ordinance, not a MA law."

..........The above was copied from another thread. SO it's a "Town Ordinance." What the heck does that mean? Fine? Jail? A lobster boat tries to run me down for diving when I accidentally end up 20 feet from a lobster trap in 10 feet of viz? SILLY I SAY! I don't even like lobster! .....Without lots of BUTTER....but that I buy!

 

[Scott5644]

And how is a diver going to stay 25' feet from a trap when "good" visibility is 15-20 feet?

 

[Jeff Toorish]

While I like this idea, it's not very legal:

United States Code
TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 17 - COINS AND CURRENCY
§ 333. Mutilation of national bank obligations

“Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or
unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill,
draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking
association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System,
with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence
of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than six months, or both.”



I've never dove CA, and sounds like I never will. I'm happy down here on the South Shore.

Just use $2 bills

Simple

Jeff

 

[scubabear6]

"I did a drive by(no weapons involved) today of Lane's(Insane's??) Cove and saw the warning sign about being within 25' of a lobster pot or buoy. At the bottom of the sign(partly obsured) describes this as a town ordinance, not a MA law."
This sign has been up for awhile you just couldn't see it through all the old boat trailers parked there.
As for parking there the break wall there was a Fed funded break water. I believe sincw it was they are suppose to allow parking and access. Maybe one of our more Lawyer Types would know better.

 

[Amazon]

I came across this:
There is a Bay State Council of Divers meeting tonight Wednesday 7/12/06 at South Shore Neptunes club, at the corner of Quarry Street off Furnace Brook Parkway in Quincy at 7:30PM.

They will be discussing a local oridinace that the city of Gloucester has approved regarding the diver's flag. The city is requiring divers with a flag to be away 25 ft from the nearest working lobster boat. This ordinance was sponsored by the Lobsterman Association. They will be discussing of hiring an attorney to fight them legally. The attorney needs a client and they will be discussing using Bay State Council as the client. They need imput on this.

It says 25' away from a working lobster boat - does not mention a bouy.

So...how do we know where the working lobster boats are? I thought the point of a dive flag was so that boats stay away from YOU. Not the other way around. Going to need to buy a periscope

Anyone go to that meeting?

 

[Soggy]

Guys, while I understand the principle of the thing here might piss a lot of us off, please step back for a moment and realize that neither of these laws are enforceable. There is no way for a cop to know if you are within 25' of a pot or buoy at any time and most of the EPO guys I've met are actually pretty reasonable anyhow and probably realize this is the dumberest law ever.

 

[Soggy]

So...how do we know where the working lobster boats are? I thought the point of a dive flag was so that boats stay away from YOU. Not the other way around. Going to need to buy a periscope

If you were within 25' of a lobster boat, you'd know it. The sound would be deafening in the shallow shore diving water where this is an issue.

 

[Dragon2115]

If I'm 30' underwater, directly under the boat, does that count as being more than 25' away?

 

[christine1223]

Now you all got me thinking...What is the fine for not following these silly rules, assuming they are being enforced?

Also, let's say someone harrasses a diver's flag by pulling on it or pulling it away etc...Isn't this illegal considering it could cuase a diver to panic or ascend too quickly? This, as we all know, could cause serious injuries or even a fatality. If someone harrasses a dive flag and is witnessed doing it, is it even worth reporting them, considering the police force in CA tends to not be too diver friendly?

Man this is making me mad and it hasn't even happened to me yet. I have had my dive flag buzzed by small craft. Some idiots just don't understand the danger they are putting divers in.

A diver from Metrowest I believe, brought a case of a flag being pulled, etc. to court and won I think sometime this spring. She won!!! So it is happening and witnesses have seen it and in one case it has gone to court. As far as the fines go... I know someone that brought in a shorty lobster and was fined $100.00 in Marblehead... I agree, nothing SERIOUS has happened to me yet, but it is making me furious to see what is happening!!!

 

[christine1223]

Actually I think it more likely that the boaters just don't care.


As for the one dive flag per diver, the ones that will be hurt the worst will be the OW classes. Most of these people are just learning to deal with being UW for the first time and now they're going to have to haul a flag around on their very first dive? This is just plain BS. About the only way they'll be able to deal with it if the law is enforced is to use the ganged floats on one line approach suggested earlier. I'm sure once CA catches on to this loophole it will be closed by requiring each diver to control their own float.

My guess is this is the local lobstermen pressuring the politicians because their catch has been getting thin lately. In their opinion it must be the divers because it couldn't possibly be anything to do with them over fishing the resource. So what they've done is get it set up so that it's physically impossible to hunt for lobster and stay 25' away from their pots so therefore you can't go into the lobstering areas at all. this is nothing more than typical protectionist BS at its finest. Who says you gotta be the CEO of a huge corporation to be a self absorbed a-hole?

Cheers to that!!!