Sandy...Aftermath.....Future of Beach Access.......

[DarkSkies]

It goes without saying that some fishermen are very generous, giving, and compassionate.
These are the ones who have stood up to help others.







However, we continue to be plagued, as a group, by bad apples who are selfish and inconsiderate of others......

*The ones who go to the beach, fishing bait, and leave their containers there instead of bringing them home or walking the extra 300' to a trash can.

* The ones who go fishing and drink while they do, leaving empty bottles piled up near the trash cans
Note, when I did research for the Brookhaven/Shoreham historic test case, (post #13)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ham+beach+pics

I found out that mostly the people who did this were the local teens, who don't fish but come down to the beaches to hang out, so please understand my comments in this context



* The ones who feel it is their right, as protected by the Public Trust Doctrine, to fish any beach they please.

* The ones who feel it is their right to cross "No trespassing" Zones that are clearly marked.
(Note - I realize there is some ambiguity with these areas now that Sandy has hit... there are many areas that have barriers, but no clear signs........)

* The ones who feel it is OK to urinate on private property......

* Or take a dump on beach club property....
(Note, this happened again at the Allenhurst Beach Club Cabanas...shortly after the hurricane....the only people down at those beaches at that early time were homeowners and fishermen)

* The ones who feel it is OK to tresspass into Private property, use the Priests' bathroom, and then argue with the priest when caught
(Note, this happened to St Alphonse Retreat sometime around 2009, and fishermen have been banned from their parking lot since then)

* The ones who feel it is ok to dump their coffee cups, or soda/energy drink cans, on the rocks when they are fishing because they don't feel like carrying them to the trash can.

* And the ones who leave jetties littered with braid, terminal tackle, and other fishermen garbage instead of putting it in their pockets and taking it home with them.

[DarkSkies]

* The ones who feel it is their right, as protected by the Public Trust Doctrine, to fish any beach they please.

* The ones who feel it is their right to cross "No trespassing" Zones that are clearly marked.
(Note - I realize there is some ambiguity with these areas now that Sandy has hit... there are many areas that have barriers, but no clear signs........)

* The ones who feel it is OK to urinate on private property......

* Or take a dump on beach club property....
(Note, this happened again at the Allenhurst Beach Club Cabanas...shortly after the hurricane....the only people down at those beaches at that early time were homeowners and fishermen)

* And the ones who leave jetties littered with braid, terminal tackle, and other fishermen garbage instead of putting it in their pockets and taking it home with them.

Great points, Surfwalker, thanks for your perspective....

My response in the Deal Access thread.....
There are some there and in the border areas of Long Branch that still don't welcome fishermen, but it's understandable now that I hear it from both sides.
The recent incident where someone took a dump by the cabanas at Allenhurst, the disrespectful behavior of a small few each spring parking in a frenzy when the fish come in...

I completely sympathize with homeowners who don't want us there....and their reasons for feeling that way.

With each incident of selfishness or careless disprespect, it becomes harder and harder for me to unilaterally support the rights of all fishermen to fish these areas. We are our own worst enemies sometimes. Additionally, when we lose access, we do not have the collective committment to have a massive gathering and protest, like Finchaser and some of the fishing clubs did in the 70's.




Or threaten a lawsuit, like a good friend who hooked up with Surfrider threatened the towns of Loch Arbor and Long Branch with to gain access for surfers.
I believe that was in the 80's.

[DarkSkies]

There have been some new develoments since the beginning of this thread.
Although the county wide restrictions were lifted. it's up to each individual town to decide access restrictions, and some have further tightened access.

Many are familiar with the fisherman who was given a ticket in Deal for trespassing beyond the orange fencing.
I have since gotten calls that additional fishermen were ticketed for tresspasing there. Some who were only there for a few minutes got ticketed anyway.

The court appearance is mandatory.

The reason I was given is that the Chief is irritated that people are blatantly disregarding the orange fencing. In some cases they have tossed it from where it is to the rocks below.

Town public works workers have had to go back and replace it.
The feeling is, among higher ups, that these actions were likely done by fishermen.
Therefore there is now a zero tolerance policy.

I know some feel this is not fair, but as I said previously it is not a Public Trust Doctrine issue.
It is a safety issue, and from what I gathered from the phone conversations I had, it is an issue of disrespect. They are really irritated that a few fishermen would do that.

If you have been near that area you would notice that the orange fencing prohibits access from areas where there is a 10-15 drop to the beach. Climbing down the unstable rocks could result in someone getting hurt.

There is also looting still prevalent among many beach areas. There are some houses that got ripped up. Access to the beach in some areas would give you theoretical access to those houses.
Folks need to understand that.

Also, that any time the towns want to in the future, they can restrict access under the guise of it being a safety issue.
This may become a bigger problem than most fishermen think. I am putting it out there as food for thought.



** Anyone who predicted that some access spots will be "forgotten" is very accurate in their thinking.

[finchaser]

I have had friends escorted off the beach in Belmar and Spring Lake. Also one in Bayhead who sneak past the National guard. The Belmar beaches are closed for the next 3 months for construction as will Spring Lake. In many towns surf fisherman are despised do to the new breed of slobs who have no respect for other peoples property.
Some of the docks I have fished for years are now off limits since surveillance cameras filmed people from Mehico shiti_g in the sterns of peoples boats and cutting clams on tiop of dock boxes.

[hookset]

There is a lack of respect both in and out of the fishing community. Different world out there now. Me first, me casting in front of you in the bunker blitzes., me cutting in front of you on the jetty or as the blitzing fish move up or down the beach. Of course I dont mean myself, just an example. it's me me me first, and then think about the other guy 2nd. Sorry for the rant, that's why I like to fish at night.
All they have to do is put up more parking signs like they did on Pullman.

[lostatsea]

Stand up for yourselves and fight anyone who tries to take access away. Don't we have a right to do that? I saw the public trust mentioned. There was a guy on another site. He went fishing and a guy who owned property near the beach told him he wasn't allowed. He asked the owner to call police and try to give him a ticket. When the police came he told the cops he was allowed to fish there. They told the owner he was and the guy went back into his house fuming. Why can't we all do something like that and stage a mass protest?

[finchaser]

After Sandy many towns down here don't even know where the streets were never mind the beach access spots,this is going to suck big time for a long time to come.Many places we fished, we will proably nerver fish again.

[hookset]

The reason I was given is that the Chief is irritated that people are blatantly disregarding the orange fencing. In some cases they have tossed it from where it is to the rocks below.

Town public works workers have had to go back and replace it.
The feeling is, among higher ups, that these actions were likely done by fishermen.
Therefore there is now a zero tolerance policy.

Some a-holes busted up a barrier in Deal last week. You know it had to be fishermen. If I ever see anyone doing that I will personally drag them out of their car and crap on the hood. unbelievable.

[jigfreak]

I'm right behind you hook. Let me at em when you are finished. Can't believe the arrogance of some. Thats going to ruin it for us in the long run.

[fishinmission78]

I'm right behind you hook. Let me at em when you are finished. Can't believe the arrogance of some. Thats going to ruin it for us in the long run.

X3 - we had some good access in Brick beaches and Mantoloking. It would **** me off when dudes would come off the beach and use a hose from a homeowners driveway after cleaning fish to wash off. Do that **** at home. People don't care about any one other then themselfs nowadays.

[baitstealer]

I don't understand why guys would do that. Possibly they don't go on the internet and would not be aware if this was bad behavior or not?