That's My Story

THE WINKING FOX

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the week of June 11, 2007

OK, so I fibbed. I promised last week that I would not write about politics, but my bad. There’s just too much going on and it’s all too important to let go by the wayside.

The big news on the Shark Norma (NOM-029) is….(drumroll)…NOTHING!

The governor of Baja has now jumped up to yell about it. So have more civic and business groups. There was another protest march this past week in Cabo San Lucas attended by several hundred folks and resulting in another old boat burned to make their point. But, it’s kinda business as usual although you can feel the general simmering going on and the disgust among those you talk to. But is it the sound of one –hand clapping?

Chuy Murrietta, himself a commercial fisherman from La Ventana said, “This is bad for all of us. We are just simple people trying to feed our families. If they let the big fleets and big boats come into our coastal waters there will be nothing for any of us. My brother and cousin fishes with the gringos. Most of my family have pangas and catch a few fish to sell to the market. We cannot compete with the big boats with all the hooks,”

“The government always tries to confuse us. This will hurt everyone. Once the fish are gone, they are gone, “ adds Pepe Cota, a panga fisherman from the East Cape.

“It hurts everyone…everyone. What are they thinking? If there are no tourists, we all lose,” said, “Aurelio Chavez, a Cabo San Lucas taxi driver.

You get the idea. Here’s what the coconut telegraph and the local papers are reporting. In one account the government in Mexico City is now saying this is only a “trial” for a few months to see how it works?

Say again? A trial? In the middle of summer? For what? To see how many marlin and dorado can be indiscriminately killed? And if it doesn’t work, then what? Who’s going to put back the thousands of fish no longer swimming the Cortez?

Let me put it in more tangible numbers. Those of you readers that have ever gotten into a wide open dorado bite know it’s conceivable to put 20, 30, 50 dorado in a boat if your sense of sportsmanship or local regulations did not intervene into the blood lust. Well, if 10 sport boats, were to catch 30 dorado a day that’s 300 fish right there.

Here in La Paz, on any given day of the season there can be 50 boats out on the water. If each of those caught 30 fish each, that’s 1500 mahi a day. In seven days, that’s 10,500 fish! And that’s with one hook and one rod per person.

Now…in this corner…

There’s 6000 commercial shark permits already issued by the Mexican government which, under the new law, will allow the Mexican commercial fishermen to keep all that dorado (and other species) by-catch. Each of those permits can be good for up to 6 boats.

OK, I’m no math whiz, but that’s 36,000 THOUSAND boats. Each of them with not one or two rods aboard. Not 3 or 4 rods aboard, but potentially, a thousand or so hooks EACH! Do the math.

And they want to do this as a “trial” for two months? I think I see the fox winking as he walks into the henhouse. “I promise this is just to see if I like eating chicken!” Hehehehe…Oh right.

The other argument we’re hearing is that it might take as much as a year to repeal the law. A year? As I understand, the law flew threw committee and was implemented in months without any public debate. So, it takes a year. Right through dorado, marlin, tuna, yellowtail, seasons not to mention migrating whales, dolphin and other sea critters. The brown stuff is getting thick and deep and I just went from deck shoes to full waders.

Why not a moratorium on the whole thing? Cease and desist. Everyone go back to your neutral corners before anyone else gets hurt. Study the thing. Get some credible people and statistics on the board then make a decision. I’m all in favor of saving the sharks, but the fine print needs to be adjusted.

Perhaps, the reason there’s the booming sound of silence from Mexico City is that they know something smells really fishy and even the Mexican people know they’re getting sold a bag of burro bandini.

SPEAKING OF THINGS THAT SMELL FRAGRANT – this just off the wires as I’m writing this! Because of so many screw-ups; delays; and a lot of pissed off people, the the new passport law intending to keep out terrorists but instead only terrorizing families trying to go on vacation, is in the process of being suspended. Basically the whole snafu has brought the understaffed U.S. immigration folks to their knees trying to keep up with the influx. Shoulda thought this one through better. In fact, by the time you’re reading this, it might have already changed. Good news for those of you on the bubble sweating your Baja vacations!

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.