HOOK, LINE & SINKER
Some may think the East End’s fishing community is in deep water, but a dedicated few are reeling in fresh ideas to preserve an iconic tradition.
Long
before there were oyster happy hours and roadside lobster rolls, the Hamptons fishing community was an integral part of Mid-atlantic commerce and culture. After the Revolutionary War, Sag Harbor’s port of entry had more squarerigged vessels engaged in commerce than the Port of New York. Over the centuries—and in particular, the past 20 years—dramatic shifts in economics, the environment, and technology have significantly impacted recreational private fishing charters and the commercial fishermen who have dedicated their lives to East End waters. A fresh catch becomes more elusive every season, and whether you’re more interested in what’s piled high on your plateau de fruits de mer or ensuring you don’t go home emptyhanded from your day charter, one thing is certain: There are more opinions than fish in, well, a school of fish.
A CAPTAIN’S TALE
“I was always attracted to the water,” says Captain Ken Rafferty, who has been fishing on Long Island for nearly 50 years. Growing up in Manhattan, his exposure to the ocean was an occasional trip to Coney Island. A visit to the East End was a game changer. “Once you’re on the ocean, there’s something about it—a certain scent when you can tell the winds are going to change,” he says. “It’s so clean, it’s hard to describe. I could never move to Kansas. A lake doesn’t do it.”
Rafferty moved his family to East Hampton, where a chance encounter with a neighbor changed his fate: He was invited to join a night-fishing expedition and caught a 45-pound striped bass. It wasn’t just the fish that was hooked. Over time, Rafferty met more captains and gained confidence in his abilities, but he soon found he wasn’t a fan of offshore fishing. “They’d shoot a shark in the head with a shotgun and tie it by its tail, dragging it back to shore to weigh it and take a photo. I didn’t like killing the fish,” he recalls.
Rafferty began experimenting with light tackle fishing using spinning reels and found it more challenging than offshore. Today most of his business is catch-and-release. One of the first charters to focus on light tackle and fly-fishing, Rafferty first used a 22-foot jerry-rigged Aquasport. He has since upgraded to a 27-foot custom vessel that attracts novices and pros alike.
With nearly two decades of chartering experience, Rafferty has seen a shift in sportfishing interest. A small but passionate number of anglers take to the water each season, often returning to familiar areas to fish with Rafferty. He’s also thrilled to welcome those who have never cast a rod, and delights in their expressions when they hook their first fish. What we’ve lost, however, Rafferty says, is the next generation, which is more interested in electronics or social media than spending a day on a boat with their parents. “We don’t see teenagers anymore. It’s a disappointment, and we miss it.”
Those fortunate enough to fish with Rafferty will notice some subtle but significant changes, particularly to his lures. Years ago, he began modifying his hooks to better preserve the fish for catch and release. Now some of his anglers complain that they lose too many fish, to which Rafferty responds, “It just makes you a better fisherman.”
THE LAWMAKER’S STORY
Rafferty represents a diminishing number of charter captains who coexist with the East End’s commercial fishing industry. It can be a rocky boat, as plenty of stakeholders want a piece of New York State’s $6.9 billion impact in the US seafood industry. State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. is trying to keep the peace—making waves when necessary— and strategizing economic initiatives that also preserve an ever-changing, fragile ecosystem.
“I grew up here, my parents grew up here, and one branch of my family tree came here through the whaling industry during the mid-1800s,” says Thiele. “I’ve lived here all my life. My dad used to take me fishing for blowfish off the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. If you live here, there is salt in your veins. The industry has gotten more difficult. There are fewer fish, and the constraints are greater than ever. I’d like to change some of that.”
With his cosponsor, State Senator Kenneth P. Lavalle, Thiele introduced a three-bill legislative package to aid the state’s commercial fishing industry. The proposal directs the state attorney general to bring legal action against inequitable fishing quotas; it also establishes a commercial fishing job-development program and an advocate, as well as a task force for promoting the marketing and sustainability of New York seafood.
“At times, the government has been hostile toward the fishing industry. There’s a need for conservation; there’s also a need to balance species sustainability with industry economics,” says Thiele. “Our fishermen are under siege like never before from federal and state regulations and a tough economic climate. We need to foster the industry, not strangle it in red tape. These legislative proposals would take critical steps to put New York State on the side of our commercial fishermen.”
Though some may believe that Thiele is often swimming upstream
politically, he has succeeded through sheer tenacity. Last year Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation Thiele sponsored that prohibits license holders in marine and coastal-district food-fish landing from bringing in blackfish, or tautog, from waters outside the district for commercial purposes. This has curbed those who’ve been fishing in federal waters and, in effect, using a landing license as a fishing license—impacting both the blackfish population and the commercial fishing industry.
With a bipartisan action plan, Thiele also successfully advocated to extend the mandate for non-offset circle hooks in shark fishing, another small but mighty accomplishment to promote higher survival rates for the released catch. And he helped put a bill into statute that provides a safe-harbor exemption to commercial fishing vessels in certain emergency situations, creating, in his words, “greater trust between fishermen and government.”
THE CONSERVATIONIST ANGLE
Although Thiele is making headway, there’s no quick fix for the drastically shifting ecological impact of charters and commercial fishing. So says Captain John Mcmurray, a former member of the Coast Guard and the first executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of New York. (His insights have appeared in The New York Times, among other publications, and he regularly contributes to the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s blog, Fissues.org.)
Advocates from government and industry may be swimming in circles looking for solutions, but Mcmurray views it simply: “There are more people chasing fewer fish. There’s no magic bullet. And you can’t just deregulate.”
Mcmurray says it’s far more catastrophic to overfish than to regulate; speciesspecific data is critical, as is a holistic approach to ecosystem management. “We need some kind of equilibrium,” he says. “Sure, the science has some flaws, but it helps determine what constitutes a healthy biomass and offers good estimates on what we want to keep in the water.” The Magnuson-stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a federal law setting fishing quotas, has been a source of contention among fishing charters and commercial fishermen, but one thing should be clear: Compromise is the name of the game.
“We’re dealing with a finite resource and many economic layers, which all contribute to who is surviving and who isn’t,” Mcmurray says. “Big-money boats—trawlers—can stay afloat, while small guys working the bay and fish traps are getting squeezed out. New England has suffered from overfishing of cod, where politics has ruled the day. We don’t want to see that in the Mid-atlantic.”
SMALL BUSINESS INTERESTS
Private charters embrace the local tradition of recreational fishing, while maintaining a delicate balance with the industry. Montauk Yacht Charters, for example, has been cruising local waters for more than 15 years, offering a luxury experience on a yacht outfitted with sonar equipment and top-of-theline fishing poles. But the locale, owner Adam Steiger says, sells itself.
“If you’re in the Hamptons, the only place to really fish is out of Montauk,”
he says. A national historic landmark, the Montauk Lighthouse marks the beginning of the Atlantic, where deepwater fishing can yield shark and tuna. Managing expectations is key, however, and Steiger’s captain and crew take the time to understand their clients’ desires. “Shark fishing is a big request,” he says, “but the water is much rougher offshore.”
With business steady, Steiger is committed to offering a luxury experience, which caters to a specific clientele. “People want to spend less money and bring more passengers,” he says, “but this is an immaculate vessel. We want to keep it that way.”
Young entrepreneurs like Joe Flotteron, of Peconic Water Sports, see industry potential despite the challenges. “We started as a water sports operator and expanded services based on demand,” says Flotteron, who left a finance job to launch the company in his childhood vacation spot. “While there have been technological advancements in equipment, fishing is fishing, and you still need a good guide like our diehard offshoreman, Captain Rob Lehnert.”
Peconic’s business model also adjusts to vacationers’ time constraints. “We’re unique in that we offer an on-demand service,” Flotteron points out. “We’ve found that people’s time on the East End is more tightly scheduled, so we’ll pick you up at your house and take you out for a few hours for a quick fishing experience.”
Flotteron is comfortable with regulations allowing charters and commercial fishermen to coexist. “We catch a lot of shorts that aren’t big enough to keep, so we release them back into the waters,” he explains. “I understand the impact on the commercial guys.” He has also witnessed the impact on his staff, which comes from around the world to spend summers in the Hamptons. “They’ve really gotten into fishing, basically to catch their food and return to this idea of living off the land.” Or, in this case, the sea.