Ruling Favors Surfers, but Ban Stands
NYTimes
June 1, 2008
Oceanside
Ruling Favors Surfers, but Ban Stands
By ISHAI GOLDSTEIN
MONTAUK
THEY called themselves the Montauk Eight: a group of surfers charged with illegal swimming last August at Montauk Point State Park. The beach, which surfers call the North Bar and surfcasters call the North Side, has been off-limits to surfers for decades, while surfcasters — fishermen who cast from shore or shallow water — have had sole access to it.
Last month in an East Hampton courthouse, Town Justice Catherine A. Cahill acquitted the eight surfers, saying the law cited did not apply to surfing. But despite her decision, Montauk Point State Park will continue to prohibit surfing.
“The bottom line is that we are still enforcing the regulation on surfing and looking into what the appropriate summons would be,” said George Gorman, deputy director for the Long Island region of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Since 2000, surfers have argued for more access to Montauk’s beaches, while surfcasters, led by the Montauk Surfcasters Association, have fought to keep the areas to themselves.
Beginning with a trial period in 2004, the parks department granted surfers access to Camp Hero — a park on the south side of the Montauk Lighthouse — for the first time since the state gained jurisdiction over the area in 1984. In discussions last fall among surfers, surfcasters and the parks department, surfers proposed a trial period on the north side.
“The surfcasters said no to every proposal we made: time closures, interim policies and even surfing during the winter when bass season is closed was a resounding no,” said Eugene Alper, a seafood trader from East Hampton and chairman of the surfing advisory committee of the Surfrider Foundation’s Eastern Long Island chapter.
The surfcasters association and the parks department contend that the north side of the lighthouse is too dangerous for surfers to share with surfcasters.
“The surfers ride right through where we’re hooking fish,” said Paul Melnyk, a Montauk resident since 1972, as he sat outside Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk.
“You got the fishermen who say get off my rock and you got the surfers who say get off my wave,” said Gary Stephens, a Montauk landscaper and a resident of 42 years. “I don’t mind when the surfers are out far, but when they come in close on the north side, somebody could get snagged.” Behind him, in the window of the tackle shop, hung a dozen lures with treble hooks on each end.
Surfcasters consider Montauk in September and October to be the striped bass paradise. Migratory striped bass, or stripers, feed on shad, mullet and other baitfish trapped by the clay boulders that line the ocean floor surrounding the lighthouse.
While many surfcasters wade into the waters at night, daytime fishing in September and October attracts 300 to 500 surfcasters at a time, packed on the north side of the lighthouse. Errant casts often end up with someone having a treble hook caught in a finger. “I pull two hooks out a week,” said Jack Yee, 70, a surfcaster and self-proclaimed beach bum.
September and October are also prime hurricane season, and the ocean bottom that traps the fish can also produce the hollow, quick-curling waves that surfers covet. Surfers say the North Bar breaks infrequently, with about five days of quality surfing each year.
“The one day the surf is good out there, they can handle working around us,” Thomas Marmorowski, a commercial fisherman born and raised at Camp Hero, said of surfcasters.
That one day could be in March, when striper season is long over. But Willie Young, of Massapequa, the surfcasters association president, said surfcasters need the north side year round.
“Surfers forget what month it is,” he said. “They’re like kids who have not grown up. And what happens if the winter fish come back?”
Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., Republican of Sag Harbor, has met with both groups over the years concerning access to Montauk beaches. “There’s no reason we cannot come up with policy involving reasonable use by both groups,” he said.
That’s what John Papciak, a Montauk surfcaster and surfer since 1981, would like.
“In February, there’s not a surfcaster on the north side for miles, and there won’t be one for months,” he said. “It’s September and October when the problem takes on a life of its own. If people exercised common sense and judgment, there would be no issue whatsoever.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/01surfli.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=surf&st=nyt&oref=slogin
The Beach belongs to everyone
We want Long Island to be a place where this, and the next generation can surf, windsurf, sail, swim, sunbathe, fish, kayak or just soak in Long Island's Natural Beauty.
Long Island is losing its waterfront and wet lands to private homes at an alarming pace. Beach Access is disappearing right along with it. In addition, many NYS laws concerning Beach Access are archaic at best.
It is not LIBAG's intent to take away any existing rights of NYS Beach users. Only to add to them.We are fortunate, to be working with the Long Island Regional State Parks Commission towards solutions that would allow all beach user groups equal access to all NYS Parks Beaches, with out excluding or taking away any access rights from any user groups.
The Long Island Beach Access Group is most commonly known for its four core programs;
1- The Beach Access program whose research and advocacy programs support the maintenance and expansion of access to those remote beach locations on Long Island for all users.
2- Also, our Beach Preservation program works to sponsor, participate and encourage those activities that ensure the healthy maintenance of our beaches and barrier islands, such as beach grass plantings.
3- Our Beach Clean-up program works to sponsor, participate and encourage continual beach clean-ups in conjunction with the America Littoral Society. This includes the adoption of Gilgo Beach.
4- But also, Long Island Beach Access Group is known for our Beach Actions program which seeks to encourage and reward proper behavior when enjoying the beaches. This includes following the official rules and regulations of each of the beaches and areas that provide access to those beaches, promoting the “Carry in, Carry out more” philosophy, and in a more informal fashion, instructing people on safe enjoyment of our natural resources.
Remember: it is not LIBAG's intent to take away any existing rights of NYS Beach users. Only to add to them.
LIBAG is honored to work with New York State Park officials, as we continue to connect the Parks to the People.
We look forward to our continued work with New York State officials in order to implement solutions that encourage more diverse use of NYS’s Beaches.
CONTACT US email me libaginfo@gmail.com
