How would you handle this?

[TMHeimer]

Hopefully people will listen and we see the birth of a new MPA.

My personal opinion is a new law should be no taking of octopi, as this is a prime dive spot and that's what the vast majority of those concerned want (the vast majority of everyone probably couldn't care less). A new MPA means no taking of anything. These are rare anywhere north of Florida, but all over South of there. Spearos would be out of luck at a place which, as someone said, has ammenities and they probably like to frequent. Plus those pier fishermen are out. And though I'll probably never be there, no (live) shell collecting, even though this is not the topic and shell populations (especially in the North) are fine.

 

[mdb]

I think the hunter was just a young kid who hunted, had a valid permit, and is now being vilified. Why?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Yes.



I can't. I'm saying that there may well be another side to this and I haven't seen it.

Here you go. Octopus hunter: 'It's no different than fishing' | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

---------- Post Merged at 02:13 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:08 PM ----------

I think the hunter was just a young kid who hunted, had a valid permit, and is now being vilified. Why?

Probably because he hunts at a popular spot for diving with these creatures, and for his attitude. Telling Bob that it was on eggs and now it's not, plus the pictures, videos and statements he has made regarding hunting in state parks. Putting a firecracker in a snake's mouth, posting videos of a dying cow twitching with it's throat cut, then punching the butchered cow as if he was Rocky Balboa, etc. The kid is a total jerk and deserves to be vilified.

---------- Post Merged at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 02:08 PM ----------

Some more action from this Mensa candidate.

 

[TMHeimer]

In my humble opinion, "harvesting" any sea creature that does not have the experience to see a diver as potentially dangerous is like shooting fish in a barrel. Ranks right up there with going to a petting zoo to shoot things. At least wild deer and elk hide and run from hunters.

Did the great hunter feel great about killing something used to the presence of divers that does not expect them to harm him?

This point has often been made by divers regarding spear fishermen, and that what they do is not "sporting". The fact that it's like shooting fish in a barrell has no bearing on this situation.
As far as the KOMO news interview it seems much of what he said on TV is different than what he said at the beach. Perhaps stuff he said at the beach was true and he is just being an a$$hole. Perhaps he was just irritated that anyone would say anything at all to him.
If there have really been death threats that's amazing, but believable today. The octopus populations apparently are not endangered, and this is a local problem between this guy and a lot of divers. It's not like he was in Florida and burned a religious book.......

 

[Dr. Lecter]

if you ever went to every dive shop in my city and got me banned from getting fills because I was doing something legal that you didn't like, I would get a lawyer and own your rear and every dive shop the joined in. When it was all said and done I'd own my own boat and compressor and a nice scuba trust fund to last me for the rest of your life.

You might want to check with a lawyer before making that assumption. Simply getting businesses to boycott an unsavory individual on the basis of a non-protected characteristic (i.e., not race, national origin, gender, etc., but simply being a raging douchebag) isn't going to lead to any legal liability, assuming you're telling the businesses the truth.

 

[Zieg]

I'll say it again, the KID was a dumbass. But he's what, 19, 20? He's brain damaged. Who wasn't at that age? I know that if at that age, if some old fart came up to me giving me hell for legally catching something, I would have been a real smartass with him too.

In my humble opinion, "harvesting" any sea creature that does not have the experience to see a diver as potentially dangerous is like shooting fish in a barrel. Ranks right up there with going to a petting zoo to shoot things. At least wild deer and elk hide and run from hunters.

Hummmmm, I guess digging clams is shooting fish in a barrel? Oysters? Sea urchins?

...... Blue Heron Bridge Marine Park......

Dan, when did that area officially become the Blue Heron Bridge Marine Park? The only places I've seen that name used is on your posts and on your on-line magazine.

 

[chrpai]

It's the internet.... people think if they say things loud enough and often enough they will become true facts.

 

[chillyinCanada]

maxbottomtime, how do you verify that those videos were taken of or by the kid in question?

 

[boulderjohn]

As a layperson I agree with the three who say the dive shop did nothing illegal in denying anyone air fills, whereas stuff posted on the internet could possibly be harassment. Any lawyers out there who can spell out the specifics?

There have been a number of posts of that kind in this thread already.

 

[DaleC]

And if he does, then what? Some other excuse or justification for not accepting the obvious? Personally I was sold when I saw the FB photo of the four young men posing under a sign that read: (Insert persons name here) sucked Ni____ers dick. You can fill in the blanks. Anyone who posts that for the public to see does not garner my sympathy. Sadly, YMMV.

This isn't about responsible hunting, or responsible shell collecting, or responsible spearfishing. It's about a cruel young man who lacks proper social conditioning and who is now experiencing the negative effects of that. Welcome to 2012 and social media. A rather harsh lesson for sure but one he (everyone) needs to learn at some point never the less. From this point forward he can choose which direction he wants to travel in life but he will do so understanding there are consequences for his behavior. That's what happens when we move out of the shelter of our families belief system/protection and begin moving in the world of other adults.

This case has intrigued me as we have recently experienced something similar in my region in regards to cyber bullying of a young girl, her suicide and the disgusting postings afterward. One man lost his job because he posted a repulsive comment on her FB tribute page - his feeble excuse: I didn't mean it, I was only trying to stimulate conversation. It did not occur to him apparently that his identification could be traced, his employer located and consequently, his job lost.

Until a few days ago this young man apparently thought he could post racial slurs, images of gratuitous violence against animals, tell others he was hunting a brooding octo and that nothing would come of it. Now he knows different.

And just so others don't think I'm somehow impervious to youthful stupidity: I have a tattoo on my lower left forearm that reads FTW which stands for F-ck The World. When I was sixteen I thought I was the cats pajamas for doing that. Now I'm almost 49 and it's a little embarrassing when the cub scouts ask what those initials stand for. Fortunately, most of my other feats of supreme idiocy were performed before video became mainstream.