Last week a lobsterman who has been trolling the waters around Mattapoisett for nearly 30 years came into town hall to complain to Mattapoisett Natural Resources Officer Kathy Massey about the activities of some of his contemporaries. He told that some commercial fishermen are using muscle power in the business because they don’t follow rules.
It is informed that nine people have paid the $200 for commercial shell fishing licenses in the town. That permit allows each holder to take just five bushel baskets per day from Mattapoisett waters. Individual shell fishing licenses for residents cost $25 each. Mattapoisett Natural Resource Office Kathy Massey conceded that there are people out here taking ten bushels (per day) but they are looking at state laws. The state laws can’t supersede the town laws when its comes to this, says Massey.
Massey also told that the guys who purchase these permits know that as they all know the laws and then they play dumb and throw the state law at you when they are confronted. Her myriad of responsibilities include every aspect of animal enforcement, including those of dog officer. She is hard-pressed to be scanning all the shorelines on a regular basis. But, she said, it’s not like the fishing boats aren’t being watched at all. It is opined that the lobsterman told that often times a shell fisherman will take his catch from Mattapoisett waters and go directly to New Bedford to sell it, without ever bringing it in to Mattapoisett Town Wharf to be checked for amounts.
Massey assured police action as they are in charge of the beaches and the harbor, but with so many responsibilities, it can be a daunting task.
