It’s On!! The Make Commercial Fishing Great Again Flotilla 2017

It’s on!

After reaching out to multiple agencies involved with security for the upcoming presidential visit to the Coast Guard Academy’s graduation ceremony this coming Wednesday, May 17th it has been decided we should move forward.

As of now we have been told there will be a 500 yard security zone around the Academy. (This is subject to change) Hopefully we will be allowed to go north of the Rt.95 bridge which is just south of the Academy. If not we are certain there will be plenty of media folks all over and we are reaching out to several outlets in CT. to make them aware of our plans.

Again, we can’t emphasize enough that this is a show of support and not a protest. We in no way shape or form want to upstage the events taking place at the Academy. In fact it would be a great gesture to have some make signs congratulating the Academy’s 2017 graduating class. We realize this is short notice and have been working hard with the authorities making them aware we are not there to take away from these Cadets’ special day. We also realize that this event could cut into your fishing time. However the importance of this event cannot be over stated and hopefully the short term loss will be made up for in long term gain. This is our goal.

It has been suggested that simple signs made on bed sheets with spray paint with POSITIVE MESSAGES could be made quickly and inexpensively. Something along the lines of, Congratulations Academy class of 2017, Welcome Mr. President, Make Commercial Fishing Great Again, or any POSITIVE MESSAGE you may come up with.

Also there is a sign company who has worked with us in the past, located here in RI called American Beauty Signworks. The man’s name is Oscar. He has said he will make large banners for anyone who is interested at very reasonable rates. However they need to know what you want ASAP. Their phone number is 401-767-2922. If anyone from out of state is interested in having them make you a banner I will gladly pick it up for you and deliver it to your vessel on the day of the event. Just let them know and have them write the name of your vessel on the banner and I will deliver it to you on the water before the parade of boats begins.

The commencement ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM so a good gathering time would be around 10:00 AM. Vessels should stand by on VHF Ch. 18 for coms and also monitor Ch. 16 for Coast Guard instructions.

This development is a very strong message to the people in DC that there are problems that need to be addressed in our industry. We realize that this event may cut into your fishing schedule but we cannot over state the importance of this gathering.

Once again if you have any questions, please contact Bob Guzzo @860 609 5988 Or Joel Hovanesian@ 401-742-3162. If you have already called me I will be calling you back.

So please pass the word. Let’s get as many boats together as possible, be it commercial, recreational, for hire or whatever and let us welcome the President to our part of the country and make him aware of our issues so hopefully he can start to understand just how out of control the regulatory authority has become and maybe, just maybe, we can begin to fix this mess of job killing over regulation that is choking the life out of our proud heritage.

Thank you and we hope to see you in New London this coming Wednesday! God bless you all and be safe.