For an outdoor writer, this shelter at home rule has sure put a damper on finding news to write about. Fishing is an exempt activity, and plenty of people are going, but by the looks of Facebook, there is a lot more fishing being done online, than on the ocean.
Photo “challenges” are popular on social media right now. One is a fishing photo challenge, and if you are into fish photos, this quarantine is for you.
The idea sprang forth to create this episode of The Bright Side based upon Facebook fishing. Unfortunately, once you start scrolling through the feed it’s real easy to get distracted and forget what you’re doing. Or bored. Food pics make you hungry. Photos of chicks in bikinis at the beach can easily cause missed deadlines.
It didn’t take long to realize that the idea of finding a story through the fishing photo challenge was destined for the Dumb Idea Box. If you didn’t get distracted, the fish photos start looking the same after a while, even if one was an ahi and the other a narwhal.
Besides, all the photos are old. They aren’t news anymore. Duh. Dumb idea.
The Facebook page Kona Marlin Report is usually the place to see recent catches, but a look there gave the impression that human life went extinct on March 24. There has not been a single post since then.
See Governor? There’s proof. Everyone is complying! But then today, the Governor released a rule restricting fishing that is perfect for the Dumb Idea Box :
“No more than two persons are allowed in any boat on Hawaii’s waters for recreational purposes unless they are part of a single residential or family unit sharing the same address. Both persons in the boat shall comply as reasonably possible with the social distancing requirements unless they are part of a single residential or family unit sharing the same address.”
They certainly missed a lot of considerations with this one. They obviously didn’t consider how big and interconnected Hawaiian families can be! This rule makes it look like our leaders are now just sitting around making up rules.
This rule is as bad an idea as my “looking to Facebook for a story” idea. Try wait. Maybe they beat me to it? Maybe they looked at peoples Facebook fishing photos and said, “They are too close!! Make a new rule, QUICK!!” and then did.
Hey Mr. Governor, you’re looking at the wrong photos. No one has posted a recent photo since March 24! The fishing challenge photos are old. Auwe.
Another reason why this rule is destined for the Dumb Idea Box is that with 37% unemployment in Hawaii as of press time, lots and lots of guys with skiffs are out fishing, and fishing a lot. People in Hawaii still catch their food. Especially unemployed people.
If you are unemployed, or if the state just cut your pay, and you can’t fish for food, then what?
Somebody “missed the boat” on this one, and not because there were already 2 people in it.
There are, however, some fun and positive things to report on along the waterfront. Capt Kenton Geer posted a video on line and put out an offer to help people. He said that just sitting at home didn’t sit well with him. Literally.
He offered up his boat, and asked for suggestions and partners on what to do, that helped. In the end, he hooked up with four young men, three teenagers and a twenty four year old, and took them out fishing on his commercial boat “Vicious Cycle.” Capt. Kenton gave these young men an experience they won’t ever forget.
Kenton posted, “I have a lot of restored faith in the next generation after taking these young men out fishing this week.” This is the type of silver lining that resourceful and positive people find in even the darkest, cloudiest times. Well done, Kenton!
Capt. Jason Holtz runs the charter boat “Pursuit” and is lucky in that the owner has been in town for the past few weeks. Although charter permits have been suspended – owners have been able to use their own boats, and they have done just that.
In six days of fishing, they have released two marlin over 600 pounds, two over 500 pounds, a striped marlin and a handful of spearfish. On Friday April 17 they tagged one of the 600 pounders and lost one considerably larger, according to Capt. Holtz.
Capt. Teddy Hoogs on “Bwana” reported another pretty good day on Wednesday, going one for three with a 200 pound blue. The “rubber hook syndrome” effected the other two. He jumped off a small one and then another one he figures might have made 800 pounds came unhooked after they got the angler in the chair and thought they were doing good.
So, what’s going to happen to guys like these? They’ve been following all the rules, and no “fishing clusters,” have been identified, as they have at McDonald’s.
Plus, the new COVID-19 cases have been dropping on the Big Island. Except for the clusters at McDonald’s, the Big Island hasn’t had a day with more than three new cases, and only two new cases in the last four days.
As far as McDonald’s, here is the “official” statement about them:
“There is low-risk to the public, as only workers or their family members were identified as close contacts.”
COVID-19 Joint Information Center Updates
So the question begs to be asked, if the McDonald’s clusters are low-risk to the public, why are fishermen out at sea being targeted with a new, draconian rule?
The national conversation today has been “how to open economies back up.” It doesn’t look like that was considered, either. With 37% unemployment, it sure seems like that would be hard to miss.
