Portland fisherman 'fled for his life' after sea attack (From Thisisdorset)
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Portland fisherman 'fled for his life' after sea attack
12:30pm Saturday 2nd March 2013 in Latest
A PORTLAND fisherman said he ‘fled for his life’ after being rammed and pelted with rocks by a Devon-based scallop dredger just off Chesil beach.
Terry Studley, 50, claims he and his crew were ‘chased off of his own ground’ by a rival crew – who were wielding knives in a cut-throat style threatening gesture. Following the attack at Stennis Ledges, Dorset Police have launched a probe but have yet to make any arrests.
Mr Studley has been a fisherman in Dorset for 26 years and catches both crabs and scallops using pots. He blames the changes in the industry for causing the influx of out-of-area fishing crews using underhand tactics to catch scallops with trawlers in Lyme Bay.
He said: “I can honestly say that I feared for my life and my livelihood after this scary attack.
“I feel like I’m fighting a David and Goliath battle because I’m out there fishing trying to provide for my family and I’ve ended up battling with these far bigger crews for land I’ve been nurturing for years.”
The situation started on Wednesday, February 22 when Mr Studley noticed a scallop dredger three quarters of a mile from land on Stennis Ledges allegedly fishing over his crab pots and damaging his property.
Due to the weather being too severe to get his boat from Weymouth harbour, Mr Studley watched in dismay from the shore, fearing his livelihood and the ground he’d nurtured for years was being ruined.
During this time he sought help from fellow fisherman, the coastguard and the governing body Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) but no-one could advice him of a solution.
After numerous attempts of calling the boat crew directly the disgruntled fisherman decided to go and investigate.
He said: “My blood was boiling.
“I have looked after that ground and nurtured it and I feared my gear would be destroyed.
“Looking back now I realise we risked our lives to go round and tell them to move.
“As we approached I told him to stop towing my gear away and the crew were on the gunnels doing cut-throat movements and we started getting pelted with rocks.
“They were swearing at us and shouting so fearing my safety I set off safety flares.
“I tried to get away but the vessel started chasing me – this is when I was really worried that if he sunk me that would be it.”
During the incident Mr Studley was on the radio to the coastguard so the altercation was recorded.
Following the attack, Mr Studley is calling on the marine agencies to protect small local fisherman like him.
He added: “Ninety per cent of scallopers are professional – we have a gentleman’s agreement regarding where we fish.
“It’s the 10 per cent that are ruining the industry.”
Comments(8)
IDONTKNOWIFITISTRRUE
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12:55pm Sat 2 Mar 13
IDONTKNOWIFITISTRRUE
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12:57pm Sat 2 Mar 13
Mea culpa.
fastjet
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5:18pm Sat 2 Mar 13
Crabber
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7:24pm Sat 2 Mar 13
Secondle to say it's My Ground is stupidity as no one owns any part of any ocean, it's tough if you've been fishing a piece of ground and its productive but it is the nature of the beast that word gets around and bingo everyone else want a finger in your pie.As a Footnote you cannot use pots to catch Scallops you use either Diving Equipment which does not damage the seabed or you as Terry will tell you use heavy dredges which does awful damage to the seabed. Either way there is no need fo this sort of behaviour
railwaychickenboy6
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5:43pm Sun 3 Mar 13
Donkey Oatty
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9:37am Mon 4 Mar 13
Micke12 wrote:oh come on...that's an editorial continuity issue not the defabrication of the story...even the dumbest of readers would realise this..
This---------
"Due to the weather being too severe to get his boat from Weymouth harbour, Mr Studley watched in dismay from the shore, fearing his livelihood and the ground he’d nurtured for years was being ruined."
And This --------
“As we approached I told him to stop towing my gear away and the crew were on the gunnels doing cut-throat movements and we started getting pelted with rocks.
“They were swearing at us and shouting so fearing my safety I set off safety flares.
do not make sense. How could he have been out on his boat when he has stated that the weather was too severe to take the boat out of Weymouth Harbour.
Perhaps Mr Studley could explain this as on the one hand he states that the weather was too bad to take out his boat from Weymouth Harbour, but the next he is on the water having a go at these scallopers.
Was he challenging them by swimming in the water or what. Or maybe he can walk on the water.
With all due respect to the man, what he says in his comments in this story, do not make any sense. Even the dumbest of attorneys would question this, let alone the dumbest of reporters. Has the OHEC been duped on this story.
portlandboy
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10:49am Mon 4 Mar 13
Micke12 wrote:First point - often it is too choppy to fish or haul gear so it would be deemed "too severe" to risk working, but a boat could still leave harbour even though it would be very unpleasant. To clarify this point the report stated that Terry said “Looking back now I realise we risked our lives to go round* and tell them to move."
This---------
"Due to the weather being too severe to get his boat from Weymouth harbour, Mr Studley watched in dismay from the shore, fearing his livelihood and the ground he’d nurtured for years was being ruined."
And This --------
“As we approached I told him to stop towing my gear away and the crew were on the gunnels doing cut-throat movements and we started getting pelted with rocks.
“They were swearing at us and shouting so fearing my safety I set off safety flares.
do not make sense. How could he have been out on his boat when he has stated that the weather was too severe to take the boat out of Weymouth Harbour.
Perhaps Mr Studley could explain this as on the one hand he states that the weather was too bad to take out his boat from Weymouth Harbour, but the next he is on the water having a go at these scallopers.
Was he challenging them by swimming in the water or what. Or maybe he can walk on the water.
With all due respect to the man, what he says in his comments in this story, do not make any sense. Even the dumbest of attorneys would question this, let alone the dumbest of reporters. Has the OHEC been duped on this story.
*This would mean to leave the harbour and "go round" the Bill to the Chesil side, rather than "go round" his house to complain, of course
Second point - VHF radio is used on fishing vessels over long distances, but when you are close enough to see another boat you can use a VHF radio as if you are talking face to face. So to clarify this point the report mentioned that "During the incident Mr Studley was on the radio to the coastguard so the altercation was recorded."
I realise that not everyone who lives near the sea understands how things work on it, but the report is pretty self explanatory, if it is fully read.
Is it me or is everything rubbish? says...
12:49pm Sat 2 Mar 13