THE KEYS: Kiteboard rules sought...flats being damaged?
 

Fishermen seek kiteboard rules
Upper Keys guides say water sport damages flats -

http://keysnews.com/node/15294

.....Brad Lange, owner of Seven Sports, which rents kiteboards at Whale Harbor Marina,
said he welcomes a battle over the growing sport. He scoffs at claims from fishermen
that kiteboards are hurting the flats.

"Show me any kind of proof of damage on any level and we'll compare that to flats fishermen," he said.

Marc

It's too bad that we have to go thru this. Once again apply common sense to the situation. If you see a guide poling a client, understand that they are working towards a target fish and that you can scare it off by coming too close with your board or kite shadow. Give them some room. Lots of room, as they are often fishing a known path that the fish travel. Talk to them (when they are not with a client) and ask where the areas are they would like us to avoid.

"scoffing" and looking forward to "battle" are poor choices of words to provide to the media, and will only make the task tougher, as you set yourself up in a bad light from the start.

There are some guides (I know of one for sure) that kite down there, get some input from them. Hope it all works out.

i live and kite in marathon and we're not too worried about the near shore guys down here. they have been trying to ban everyone but themselves from the flats for quite some time. my biggest worry is the talk about regulation for kiters-always a bad idea. we should all be on our best behavior, and police our own beaches in order to avoid any problems that could bring negativity to our sport. let's all rip it up and try and be respectful to fishermen and others at the beach to ensure our access is never denied.

agreed
 

I agree , we do have to give the fishermen their space and respect, and for the most part kiters will do this , however just like at everyone,s local spots you are going to have someone, either a local or a visitor who is ignorant, or just does not give a damn about anyone except himself, these are the people we need to give a lot of attention to.

Greg

Hey Whitey, I agree on the words...I didn't say that. He seriously misquoted me...but he did get my tone right. He said "scoffs" and is encouraging a battle between two groups that (for the most part) get along fine..."good" journalism.

I said compare our damage to "prop scars" not flats fishermen... he ran with it...

this month's meeting was just cancelled...

next meeting is Sept 22

see www.conchsforkites.com for details

Please keep us updated with details. This is very interesting.

Thanks

will do...

they learned quorum would not be met earlier in the day yesterday...hmmm...I don't want to speculate why...