Fisherman threatens suit against surveyors
The world’s longest fiber-optic cable may be coming to Eureka, but fishermen say survey ships off the coast have disrupted what’s left of the crabbing season.
The lengthy telecommunications cable will extend between Singapore and California — a welcome development for harbor officials looking to spark the local economy. Surveys are underway in the ocean to lay a framework for the cable to be buried underwater.
But longtime crab fisherman Ken Bates filed a cease-and-desist order this week against the survey ships, saying their presence threatens to destroy Dungeness crab gear, or worse, displace gear far into the ocean, where it could entangle whales and prompt the state to sanction the coastal industry.
“We’re not trying to stop this
stuff,” Bates said of the surveying effort. “We’re trying not to get mowed down by them.”
On the other hand, a subcontractor overseeing the survey said he has operated in good faith and accused Bates on Wednesday of cynically stirring up backlash against the fiber-optic cable project.
“Ken Bates has said he will fight this project,” said Wolfgang Rain of Sea Risk LLC, the surveying company. “I know that he will continue to make stories up about this without any factual basis, because he’s sworn to do that.”
While Rain said the surveyors have engaged in “careful reconnaissance” of the waters to ensure the
crab-fishing season would not be disrupted, Bates and another fisherman say they’re at serious risk of losing costly crabbing gear.
David Helliwell, a longtime Eureka crabber, said he recently lost a trap out in the waters.
“It’s extremely likely it was (the survey ships) — nobody saw them drag it off, but there were no other boats out that way, and these traps had been out for months without any disturbance,” Helliwell said.
Rain suggested reimbursing crab fishermen for lost gear. He said the crews’ permits fully account for the crabbing in the ocean. And, in any case, the season ends July 15.
Bates, in emails to officials, counters the survey companies selected just a few fishermen to compensate in order to receive an effective co-sign for the project.
The two sides have gone back and forth for some time. Rain said Thursday he believes there’s room for cooperation between the fishing industry and the surveyors.
“We’re still working with fishermen as long as they talk to us, but Ken Bates is not one of them,” Rain said.
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District has discussed leasing property to Trans Pacific Networks, the telecom company looking to install the cable. But the district’s executive director said all survey work is out of the district’s jurisdiction.
“The harbor district has absolutely nothing to do with scheduling or organizing this,” said Larry Oetker, who added that Eureka crab fishermen have undergone enough hardships over the past few years.