THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603310050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS AND STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Charter boat captains and sport fishermen had a message for PETA activists Saturday: Just leave people alone.
If they make good on promises to harass fishermen, activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will end up in jail or hurt, people connected to the sport-fishing industry predicted.
``If they're going to try to disrupt us from making a living, they better have their act together because they're going to be in jail,'' said Al Paschall, a charter boat captain who operates out of the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.
``We're going to handle it legally, but they're going to have police on their neck if they start disrupting us and harassing our customers. When you start harassing people, that's illegal.''
PETA says that this summer it will hit Virginia Beach and other coastal spots, lakes and fishing holes around the country to promote a ban on sport fishing. Tracy Reiman, PETA's fish campaign coordinator, said protesters would maneuver their boats among fishing craft. Others will ``skip rocks in the water where people are fishing,'' she said. And there is talk of blockades at fishing piers, although none is planned yet.
Fishermen and marina operators said PETA might be biting off more than it can chew. The group surely wouldn't win many friends trying to disrupt sport fishing, a multimillion dollar tourist industry at the Beach.
``Fishing has been around since the beginning of time, since people were smart enough to hook a fish and eat 'em, and I really can't see what good it's going to do to go after recreational fishermen,'' said Connie Barbour, manager of Bubba's Marina in Virginia Beach. ``About 60 to 70 percent of the people fish. It's like going after a country.''
And a lot of fishermen take their sport seriously, Barbour said. Anybody trying to harass them could get hurt, he said.
``I just hope it doesn't turn violent,'' Barbour said. ``I've heard a lot of people voicing their opinions as they came through the shop, and they were pretty violent. If they (PETA) get in their way, they'll get hurt, I have no doubt in my mind.''
Barbour added: ``The worst thing you want to do is to try to stop a pier fisherman from fishing. That's a rowdy bunch.''
Some fishermen suspect PETA is merely trying to make a splash locally with the move of its headquarters to the Norfolk waterfront.
``They picked the one thing locally they knew would generate the most antagonism,'' said Ricky L. Martin, 31, of Virginia Beach as he and his brother stood in a convenience store line, waiting to buy lottery tickets. ``They want to get people (ticked) off. They'd love it if someone hurt one of them or damaged one of their boats or such.''
His bother was less generous, offering comments laced with expletives.
``Maybe if they ate some fish instead of trying to talk to them, their brains would benefit,'' Lance Martin, 33, suggested.
Kevin Seldon, a 36-year-old charter boat captain in Virginia Beach, isn't inclined to take PETA's threats too seriously. And he doubts many people will.
``They might antagonize a few people,'' Seldon said as he washed his boat Saturday afternoon. ``But when all the dust settles, nothing is going to be all that different.''
Seldon said PETA's views are too extreme to be taken seriously. ``Plants are living, breathing things too,'' he said, ``so I guess we won't be able to eat anything.''
Barbour said he's heard that PETA members may try to disrupt marina business by making reservations for charter boats and then not showing up.
Barbour said friends of his who were once involved in PETA have left because the group has become too extreme. It started out trying to stop the unnecessary use of animals for testing, he said, which he thinks may be OK, but then got more radical, such as going after horseback riding.
``They had a good idea when it started, but I think it's lost track of its point. It's gotten crazy,'' Barbour said. ``A lot of money is just being thrown into the wind to support a group like that. There's a lot of people on the street without food or money that could use it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Clifton Sato, 12, of Spotsylvania gets off a charter boat in
Virginia Beach. Its captain, Kevin Seldon, doubts that PETA's plans
will be taken seriously.
by CNB