SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Captain Steven Ventura of the Sea Queen VII struck back against an aspiring thief Saturday night, foiling the plans of a knife-wielding dunce.

According to the NY Post, Ventura was off the coast of Coney Island around 11:20 p.m. with 15 passengers when he noticed the sinkers from his fishing lines vanishing. When he spotted the culprit, a fight ensued in which the thief, Joseph Neuer, brandished a knife. Ventura avoided injury as he slugged the would-be robber, and passengers and crew bound him with duct tape. When they docked at the Sheepshead Bay marina, police arrested the felon and charged him with third-degree assault, menacing, harassment, and petit larceny.

From the NY Post: Continue Reading »

Many of you had your day out in our local waters celebrating Father’s day with Daddy Fisherman and are just finishing up eating your day’s catch.

Go ahead and share your story of today’s big catch, here. Even if you didn’t go fishing today or the new fishing rules limited your catch, feel free to tell us a past fish tale your father told you!

Your story doesn’t have to be quite as dramatic as six-year-old Tegan Humphrey’s. Last Sunday, she did her father proud by landing a very large halibut on board Capt. Rob Hyslip’s charter boat in Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News says that, not unlike a lot of you who went to Coney Island yesterday, she was fishing for a mermaid.

Of course, she had some help from dad and the captain’s sawed-off shotgun. The Slanch Report tells us that while she was more than willing to reel the fish in, she did not want it shot. We knew the story of a little girl reeling it all in by herself sounded a little fishy!

But, keep your comments sans-guns — because, Sheepshead Bay has seen more than its share of fishes and guns!

(Photo courtesy of Paula Frisinger & Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby via AOL Good News Network)

I love this photo from Flickr user bayrat. It looks like it’s jammed outside of time; a dark, grainy film noir view of Brooklyn’s fishing culture. Bayrat, who comes from a family of Sheepshead Bay fishermen, wrote this about the photo:

I took this picture in 1976, when my father and brother fished out of Sheepshead Bay. The background buildings are in Rockaway, the boat is 2 miles offshore, in the Ocean. The apartment buildings in the background were new construction at that time.

(Monofilament fishing line recycling collection box at Stella Maris Fishing Station; Photo by Ray Johnson)

The not-for-profit organization, Going Coastal, Inc., works to preserve urban waterfront resources by connecting people and their coastal waterways in sustainable ways.

One of the many means to the ends of “public enjoyment of coastal resources and responsible use of coastal resources” that the Going Coastal organization, in partnership with the Berkley Conservation Institute, uses is the collection and recycling of monofilament fishing line. Although, this fishing line is a necessity for making the big catch, it’s not necessary (or good) for it to be thrown into the water.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, monofilament — which lasts for up to 600 years — contributes to environmental pollution. Check this article about birds in Florida found strangled by this type of fishing line.

Monofilament line is doing damage to local wildlife in the Sheepshead Bay waters. Darren, at Bernie’s Bait and Tackle says, “I do a lot of diving and whenever I’m out in the water I see a lot of horseshoe crabs that get tied up in the fishing line and there is a lot of other marine wildlife that gets tangled. For example, there’s a type of bird that when it goes diving into the water for fish, it comes up with fishing line. But, I’ve also seen people go fishing and get caught up in it. He goes on to say that if “we could do something to help the environment, then that’s what we’ll do.”

To help reduce the damage to our natural environment, the organization has put out a call for volunteers to place and maintain collection bins where fishermen can place their used monofilament fishing lines. The collection bins are already in place at a few local fishing supply stores, a marina, and the NYC Parks Department pier station. With your help, they can be placed at every other spot where they are needed. Once or month or so, the boxes are visited by the volunteers and the fishing line is packaged and sent out for recycling in postage paid boxes.

You can spread the word about the importance of keeping this fishing line out of the waters by telling your friends to drop it off at the stations. If you or someone you know may be able to volunteer to help with this recycling effort, contact Going Coastal.

Contact information to volunteer:
Going Coastal, Inc.
Send e-mail

Stella Maris Fishing Station
Bait, Tackle & Ice
2702 Emmons Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 646-9754
Open Everyday
March 1 to September 30 from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
October to February – Call for hours
Located near the store entrance

Bernie’s Bait & Tackle
3035 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 646-7600
Open Everyday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Located behind the counter

Venice Marina
3939 Emmons Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 646-9283
(Ask the manager for the drop-off box)

NYC Parks Department Fishing Pier Station
Drop-off station located at the end of the dock
Parks Information 1-800-201-PARK

Brooklyn Based has a great article today titled, “The Naming of Sheepshead Bay“. It explains the story of the sheepshead fish, the awesomely evil-looking toothed piscis, and its history within our murky waters. John Waldman, a professor of biology at Queens College, and author of Heartbeats in the Muck, which traces the history of the New York Harbor, explains why it may have left some time in the late 1800s. But for those like me that love that ugly bastard of a fish, there may be cause to rejoice. He says that conditions for their return are forming:

From time to time, a stray sheepshead makes its way to Brooklyn and rumors fly that the species has made a comeback. Waldman doubts a comeback is imminent, but does think Sheepshead Bay could become attractive to the species in the future.

“For one thing, we are seeing oysters in a lot of places that they weren’t found in the mid century,” he said. “And the waters are warming a bit because of climate change, so we might become more inhabitable.”

Check out the full article here.

The Sea Queen VII will be launching their summer flounder (fluke) 2009 season on Friday, May 15. You can head on over to Pier 5 on Emmons Avenue (near Dooley Street).

There are new stricter regulations that limit the size and number of fish that you will be able to catch, but you can have a lot of fun escaping from the concrete jungle for a day. Just make sure to follow the rules, because there’s no way to escape the DEC.

Here is the information:
Sea Queen VII
Fluke Season Launch on Friday, May 15, 2009
Half day sail from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sheepshead Bay Pier 5 at Emmons Avenue & Dooley Street
Captain Gerald Nappi or Captain Steve (917) 642-0265

Whoever said that Sheepshead Bay party boats are dispensable probably never had their boat overturned in the windy waters.

Early Sunday morning on May 10, 2009, a 25-foot boat carrying six anglers was overturned when the winds and waves forced them into the chilly waters of Jamaica Bay.

Thankfully, a dance cruise boat carrying high schoolers celebrating their graduation was nearby. The captain and crew of the Capt. Dave II rushed to the mayday call — originating through the Coast Guard radio — and were able to rescue the entire crew of the capsized boat.

The rescued fisherpeople were rushed to nearby Coney Island Hospital and Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park, with all being released with a clear bill of health a little while later — free to check out their boat now docked at Sheepshead Bay.

Check the NY Daily News full story and see some pictures of the Capt. Dave II and its heroes, Capt. Dave Paris,Daniel Paris, and Larry Patrin. There’s no picture of rescuer Salvatore “Capt. Cody” Catapano, but we’re sure everyone whose life was saved will never forget his face.

Apparently there were some undercover enforcement officials, posing as average fishermen, aboard the Sea Wolf fishing boat this morning when it set sail. By afternoon, when the boat was coming into the bay, strollers enjoying the gorgeous Mother’s Day weather were surprised by what appeared to be not just an investigation, but a Dateline episode chronicling this fish tale.

New limits set just recently on the number and size of fish that can be pulled out of the waters are currently being challenged, because of the hardship it places on the local Sheepshead Bay recreational fishing industry.

Stay tuned to Sheepshead Bites for news about this incident as it breaks. Readers who witnessed any of the activities on Emmons Avenue, this afternoon, and have any information or photographs are invited to send them in.

Here is an excerpt of the news as we received it from the SB/PB:

Approximately 10 DEC Enforcement cars pulled up to the Sheepshead Bay Piers on Mother’s Day to summons two fishermen who allegedly kept fish under the federally-regulated size limit, or “shorts”, after a day of fishing on the Sea Wolf. The coordinated raid, called in by undercover officers on board the Sea Wolf, resulted in summonses for two anglers wiho allegedly caught a total of two illegal fish. DEC Enforcement were accompanied by a cameraman from DateLine NBC, who claims that it will be airing a segment about the raid on next Sunday’s edition. No one from the general public or the fishing community was interviewed.

I’m not really sure if there is a special reason (other than it was one really great segment), for the Brooklyn Independent Television (BIT) to do an encore presentation of Ned’s Walk Around the Blog one week after they just did.

I’m sure there are many of you who missed it last week and would still like the chance to see it. Here is the information:

Sheepshead Bites: Next on a walk around the blog, we meet the blogger known as Sheepshead Bites as he talks to fisherman in Sheepshead Bay about what they fear is a declining Brooklyn industry.

Monday, January 19 at 1 pm & 9 pm
Thursday, January 22 at 1 pm & 9 pm
Friday, January 23 at 3 pm & 11 pm

Brooklyn’s Time Warner Cable channel 56
Cablevision channel 69
RCN 84
Streaming live online at briconline.org/bcat (channel 3)

(Brooklyn Review announcement at BRIC Online)

For those of you who are missing Ned (a.k.a., The Blogger Known as Sheepshead Bites) and are getting tired of seeing him only on the computer screen, you can catch him this week on the big screen. Okay, okay, the small screen.

Brooklyn Independent Television (BIT) and Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT) will be presenting an encore presentation of Ned’s interview with Captain Sapanara of the Brooklyn VI fishing boat as he discusses the decline in the fishing industry.

See the Brooklyn Review’s A Walk Around The Blog segment as it re-airs at the following times:

Monday, January 12, 2008 at 1 & 9 p.m.
Thursday, January 15, 2008 at 1 & 9 p.m.
Friday, January 16, 2008 at 3 & 11 p.m.

and the following channels:

Brooklyn’s Time Warner Cable channel 56
Cablevision channel 69
RCN 84
Streaming live online at briconline.org/bcat (channel 3)