Dan's Papers - June 20, 2008 - Montauk Fisherman Dip Toes In Union Waters

With increasing pressures on Montauk fishermen regarding soaring fuel prices and mounting restrictions on what they can catch, they have been listening to ideas about creating an "association."

Representatives of Local 359 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union visited with commercial fishermen in both Montauk and Hampton Bays in the past few weeks. Dennis Faicco, president of Local 359, told the fishermen that he has a "selfish motive" - in that he is attempting to save a slowly dying industry. He explained that with the increased government restrictions on fish sizes and amounts, there are fewer fish being caught, which means that the overall amount of American seafood being sold at Fulton Fish Market and others has diminished - American fish are cheaper than imported fish.

He also told the fishermen that he and Ed Lynch, who represents Region One of the greater union's international branch, are using Montauk as a starting point in an effort to organize fishermen state and nationwide in this effort. He said of all the New York State harbors, Montauk is the most productive. If there is a way for the commercial fishermen to band together in some kind of union or association, he said it may be possible to get subsidies for fuel and other needs, perhaps by lobbying in Washington. Montauk fishermen are now paying close to $5 per gallon at the pump, which is eating up their profits.

With some kind of union association, it may be possible for fishermen to pay dues, which would help raise some funds to lobby Washington to save the seafood industry.

George Miller, a long-time Montauk commercial fisherman who owns a dragger called "The Sahara Dust," said the unions approached him several months ago about setting up these local meetings in Montauk and Hampton Bays.

"I was contacted by a friend who knew these union people," he said. "They told me they were concerned that if our commercial fishing industry disappears out here, then they would also disappear. They asked me to set up a meeting both in Montauk and in the Shinnecock area."

Miller said by helping to organize the East End fishermen in some way, they could help them to get fuel and other subsidies by shifting them from the Dept. of Commerce to the Dept. of Agriculture.

"Under the Dept. of Commerce, we can't get help with fuel, but we could under the Dept. of Agriculture, where we belong," said Miller. "By starting an association, we could also help to ease up some of our current restrictions by appealing to the environmental groups, and we could try to get more realistic stock assessments from the government."

Miller said that, mainly, he'd like to see more unity among the different groups of fishermen, like the inshore draggers, the offshore draggers and the lobster boats, which "all have different concerns."

"We all need to get together to work this as a whole, to give us a voice, because right now, everybody wants a little piece for themselves," he explained.

Dan Farnham, another Montauk commercial fisherman, said the skyrocketing fuel prices are killing his business since he owns two draggers - the "Kimberly," in Montauk, and the "Megan Marie," in New England. "They burn 800 gallons of fuel a day. At the rate of $4.50 a gallon, I might go out of business," he said.

Farnham attended the two recent meetings with the union officials, and he would also like to see the restriction of fish imports from countries "that don't fish as sustainably as we do. We're one of the most highly regulated countries," he said. He'd like to see an association formed to help put lobby pressure on the federal government for better fishery management and stock assessments.

"I would say that most of my fellow commercial fishermen - like Billy Grimm, Hank Lackner and Richie Jones, also support this," he said.

But Montauk charter fishermen don't see a union-type association to benefit them as much. Captain Joe McBride, former president of the Montauk Boatmen and Captain's Association, said he was used to unions, having formerly worked in transportation, and as a high school principal. "I was at one time a labor leader in New York City," he said. "I have nothing against unions per se, but whether it would work with fishing, I don't know. If it was practical for the crews of working boats, it might work for charter boats, too. But I think they should investigate it more fully, to see if it could be organized, like the doctors and lawyers associations."

Strett Whitting, President of the Montauk Boatmen's and Captain's Association, speaking as a private citizen and boat captain, said he doesn't think it would work.

"The difficulty I see is that the unions have no experience in dealing with federal fisheries, and to create another entity is a mistake, when we already have numerous fishing agencies helping us. We have the Long Island Farm Bureau fighting on state issues, the New York State DEC allocating the numbers of fish we can land, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance on the federal level - and I think we'd be better off supporting them."

Although more meetings may be planned for local fishermen, Rob Aaronson, a Montauk commercial and charter captain, said it's often hard for people like himself to attend these meetings.

"We're so busy struggling to make a living, and I couldn't make the other meetings," he said. "I would like to hear more of what they decide, because it's a bad situation for us right now."