Probe Viking Catch
There is no question that customers aboard the Viking Starship party boat caught school-size bluefin tuna during a two-day trip offshore Sept. 12 and 13. What the National Marine Fisheries Service wants to know is whether they were caught prior to the start of a special 46-and-a-half-hour opening that began at 1 a.m. on the 13th, and whether the catch exceeded the daily "bag limit" specified for the opening. The regular school-size bluefin season had been closed on Aug. 17.
Disgruntled customers aboard the Starship reported the ship's captain, Steven Forsberg, to the Federal agency. They were reportedly angered when he ordered the 18-fish catch over the side after learning, by radio, that the former one-fish-per-angler limit that had applied before the regular season closure had been changed to one-fish-per-boat for the limited opening.
Captain Forsberg was not commenting this week on advice of counsel. James Greenbaum, the Viking Fleet lawyer in this case, is arguing that the government's failure to properly notice the opening, and its rules, was responsible for the confusion.
Shut Out
Capt. Joe McBride, an advocate for the party and charter boat industries, said he understood that Mr. Forsberg had not caught the bluefin outside the short opening. He said that Captain Forsberg properly ordered the 18 fish dumped, because possession of them would surely have been an illegal act - "no different than when draggers dump extra fluke."
The ongoing investigation is the latest episode in an unhappy bluefin season for local charter and party boat owners and customers. For the second year in a row, the Fisheries Service shut down the season for school-sized bluefin (27 to 47 inches long) before the migrating fish ever made it to the Northeast. The annual coastwide quota had once again been filled by southern anglers. The Aug. 17 closure effectively took away the popular bluefin fishery from local fishermen.
After a general hue and cry from fishermen and from Rep. Michael Forbes, the Fisheries Service admitted mismanagement and allowed two brief openings.
Closer to shore, the striped bass and false albacore fishing is described as nonpareil. The action around the point is fast and furious. Bill Beasley of Freddie's Bait and Tackle in Montauk said there were plenty of bluefish and bass around for last weekend's tournament. The weights were impressive.
Paul Melnyk of Montauk took top honors in the striped bass competition with a 29-pound, 8-ounce fish. The second-place winner, Jeff Chu, caught one weighing just under 28 pounds. Brian Jones took third with a 27-pound bass. In the bluefish division, 11-year-old Eugene Ross Jr. was lucky he wasn't pulled in. His blue weighed 15 pounds, one ounce. The heaviest bluefish weighed 15 pounds, six ounces, the second heaviest, four ounces less.
Mr. Beasley reported unbridled fly-fishing excitement close to shore in Montauk early this week. False albacore inundated the coves from Turtle Cove to Caswell's. "We started at Shagwong [on the north side of Montauk] and worked our way around to the south side - all albacore," he said.
"Monstrous Runs"
Harvey Bennett, too, was bubbling about the "falsies." Taking a break from the rigors of getting his new shop in shape on Montauk Highway, East Hampton, on Tuesday, Mr. Bennett said he first took his boat off of Napeague in search of the lightning fast falsies. He found them farther east at Quince Tree near Hither Hills.
"They weren't in deep water, maybe eight feet. They were so close to shore chasing bait, I pulled the boat up and caught them from the beach. I caught three on a fly rod, three more on a spinning reel. The terminal gear, in the latter case, consisted of a Crazy Charlie fly kept on the surface by way of a small float."
"After a while, they get finicky so you have to change. I changed to a little tin with no tube," Mr. Bennett said, going on to describe "monstrous runs" by the albacore.
"When they're in shallow water they run far, not deep. One spooled me so bad, I had to chase it with a boat. I barbecued and ate it. People say you can't eat them. The secret is to use the belly meat, marinate it, and put it on the grill. The next day, it makes the best tuna salad."