GLOUCESTER, Massachusetts (28 Dec 2006) -- A maritime battle has erupted off Cape Ann, pitting old salts who set down lobster pots against scuba divers who glide silently beneath the surface, bobbing and weaving between their rope lines. Lobstermen say divers have been slipping deep underwater, using the cover of the sea to unlock their traps and steal their lobsters. Divers say lobstermen have been gunning their motorboats and yanking on the divers' flags to scare them out of the water. City officials in Gloucester have vowed to intervene, but the allegations have stirred up a debate over who really rules the sea, lobstermen or their underwater counterparts. Both sides say they want to share the waters off Cape Ann, but with hundreds of divers and lobstermen competing for the most bountiful spots, many doubt they can coexist in peace. "It's the Hatfields and the McCoys," grumbled Fred Calhoun , 72, who has been diving off Gloucester since he was a teenager. "It's a feud." Fueling the latest skirmish in the undersea conflict is a local ordinance in Gloucester that requires divers to signal their presence with a flag attached to a buoy. Lobstermen strongly support the rule, saying the telltale red and white markers help them navigate safely around divers. But divers say that with so many of them sharing coastal waters, they have been getting tangled in the lines that anchor the flags. They have petitioned the City Council to repeal the rule and allow them to fly only one flag for every group of divers who take to the sea. The Council has held two hearings on the issue, and has a third planned for next month. But so far, the city has refused to amend the rule. "We have made it clear that we're hearing the concerns of both parties but we're giving more weight to the boat drivers," said City Councilor Bruce Tobey . "The potential harm from getting whacked by a propeller is probably weightier than the risks of getting tangled in a line." The stalemate has unleashed allegations by divers who say lobstermen are backing the "one diver, one flag," rule to force them out of the sea. The Gloucester ordinance is stricter than state law, which requires only one flag per group of divers. "They basically do not want divers in the water, so they look for every nook and cranny to keep them out," said Angelo Correnti , president of the Bay State Council of Divers, which has been lobbying to repeal the rule. "Their theory is they've been fishing for centuries and divers have only been doing it for decades." | | A dive flag signals to boaters that there are scuba divers below. (JOHN BLANDING) Lobstermen counter that the newcomers would be more welcome if they followed the rules. "It's been the infamous thing, they go down there and rob your trap," said Bill Adler , executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. "If he's down there with bubbles coming up, and your trap is empty, and he comes up with a bag of lobsters, it's like, 'Wait a minute here, pal.' " The hunt for lobsters has gotten particularly fierce in the last few decades as increasing numbers of divers take to the water, outfitted with gloves and heavy-duty bags to snare the crustaceans from the ocean floor, divers and lobstermen say. "Everybody's trying to get in the same water, and I think everybody would like to have their own little slice of heaven all to themselves," said Dave Stillman , owner of Cape Ann Divers, a dive shop in Gloucester. Both sides acknowledge that a few unscrupulous divers have stolen lobsters from traps, and a few irate lobsterman have tugged on the flags divers carry to give them a jolt. There have also been instances of cooperation: Lobstermen often ask divers to help them cut loose a line that has tangled in their propeller. Divers and lobstermen say they want to see more cooperation between the two sides. But with only so much water to fish, some doubt that a peace is possible. "There's a bad element on both sides that aren't going to pay attention to the rules," said Arthur Sawyer, 50, a lifelong lobsterman in Gloucester. "There's going to be divers who raid lobster traps and there's going to be lobstermen who violate any kind of diving rule because they feel someone's raiding their traps." |
