Fishing rights pitted against boating safety in Bourne Cohasset Narrows controversy

BUZZARDS BAY – It’s shaping up as an anglers vs. boaters conflict at the Cohasset Narrows Bridge, which links Plymouth and Barnstable counties as well as the navigable channel below that marks the boundary between Bourne and Wareham.

Bourne Natural Resources Director Chris Southwood in January said the conflict is not new. He says anglers have an “absolute right to fish from the bridge” but that boaters should also be able to clear the span without being hit by hooks or negotiating a veritable maze of fishing lines.

The Narrows channel, at the midway point of the reconstructed bridge, is a popular fishing spot, with two marinas on the south side and one to the north.

Past coverage: Fishing, trash, urination creating problems at Cohasset Narrows Bridge

State or environmental police are responsible for enforcing any rules or fishing prohibitions on the Cohasset Narrows Bridge.

The bridge is owned by the state.

Southwood says if rules or fishing prohibitions were enacted for anglers atop the span, state police or Massachusetts Environmental Police would be called upon to enforce them.

At a Feb. 2 Shore and Harbor Committee meeting at the Bourne Intermediate School, Southwood said wider issues exist beyond public safety and assuring safe boating. Those include sustenance fishing issues and Indigenous rights.

“There’s nothing illegal about the fishing,” Southwood said. “There’s no (state) regulation related to fishing off a state bridge; or fishing into the channel. A navigation hazard at times? Possibly. My office receives complaints. So, there’s a concern and it needs to be addressed.”

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Beyond the immediate and wider aspects, the panel will have to weigh other elements, including whether to offer options for local officials to consider and recommendations for state authorities to review. Should the board do nothing or try to strike a reasonable balance with the competing interests that of necessity would assure a winner and loser?

Southwood, the town harbormaster, said he seeks direction for his Department of Natural Resource officers.

Committee members said Feb. 2 they remain assured any state action needed to control bridge fishing would be ultimately appropriate if not precedent-setting. Members are reluctant to act: as boating enthusiasts, they agreed they don’t want to be perceived as “anti-fishing.”

Chain-link fence along bridge or alternate fishing spot among are options to reduce conflict.

Members wondered if erecting a chain-link fence along the bridge above the channel would effectively deter anglers or if fishers could be forced from the vehicle span to the neighboring train trestle abutting the busy Taylors Point Marina entrance in Buzzards Bay and Butler’s Cove at Wareham.

Members will try to determine if it has played out in other towns with state-owned spans that attract anglers; notably along Route 28 at the Bass River Bridge on the Yarmouth-Dennis line.

Southwood says if signs are erected to control fishing, they must be precisely worded so law enforcement can investigate complaints or otherwise take legal action.

The shore and harbor panel appreciates that any decision by the state transportation department to restrict fishing would be difficult, that enforcement could be spotty and that boating in the Buttermilk Bay channel is not going to lessen.

At the Feb. 2 meeting, board members said they hope officials would consider safety conditions related to boaters navigating the channel, which is popular night and day from spring to early autumn.

Southwood has discussed the subject with Gary Buckminster, his Wareham Natural Resources Department counterpart.

“There’s much to sort out if that’s what is going to happen, if anything,” Southwood said. “My department receives complaints. We await direction. Lots of cooperation and understanding are needed.”

Shore/Harbor Chair Rich Libon said Feb. 2 he anticipates a procedural vote on March 15 and a decision to refer the matter to Bourne Administrator Marlene McCollem.

Middlesex Corp. reconstructed the bridge in 2014. Travel lanes were widened, sidewalks were upgraded, bridge supports in the water were reduced, and period lighting was installed.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Fishers vs. boaters: What to do with Cohasset Narrows Bridge dispute?