BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

St. Lawrence County legislators are seeking more information about an incident in which a carp fishing tournament director was fined $250 for hosting an unsanctioned event on Brandy Brook, located in Waddington.

County Legislator Rita Curran questioned why a fine was issued and put forward a resolution at the County Legislature’s Finance Committee meeting on May 23 calling on the state to cease any efforts to close off fishing areas along shorelines without notice.

Curran sought answers as to why event coordinator Bob Giordano was fined and why the area is restricted.

Curran went on further, saying the regulations can have a negative impact on fishing in the area and in turn, the local economy as well.

“They were fishing, they had a whole group there. All of a sudden the park police show up and they’re like, ‘why are you all fishing here.’ It’s their own event. They’ve been doing it for over 12 years. All they’ve ever done is talk to the Waddington mayor and they went about their business,” Curran said.

Giordano was fined $250 and told that the anglers were to go somewhere else to fish, according to Curran.

Though no sign was allegedly posted on the day the fines were issued, a sign was posted the next day which stated that the park is only open from sunup to sundown, Curran says.

Curran said that though the anglers were told they could no longer fish from the shore, boaters are still allowed to use the boat ramp in the early morning and late evening. Curran mentioned that some fishermen use the ramp late at night and duck hunters launch from the site in the early morning hours as well. For more on the incident, see our previous story.

Curran also elaborated on her concerns that such regulations may have on the local economy, with St. Lawrence County scheduled to host a large number of tournaments over the course of the summer.

“I am quite concerned about how this will affect fishing. We have already lost the Bassmasters because our county was less than hospitable to the concept of having fishing during COVID. I would hate to see us lose any more tourism or lose any more people coming into the county that could potentially develop any kind of further tourism trade or expand a business,” Curran said.

The tournament in question is a large, international carp fishing tournament in its 18th year. Over 100 anglers attend from all over the U.S., Canada and England.

Harry Potter alum Tom Felton attended in years past, bringing additional press to the region.

Curran mentioned that a number of hotels and restaurants were full because of the recent tournament.

“The sales tax generated from these events helps pay for a lot for the county,” she said.

Legislator Margaret Haggard questioned what difference there may have been between the men involved in the incident and other fishermen in the area.

“What I am wondering is, if the restaurants and everything are full of fishermen, what were they doing that these guys were singled out? Was there a difference,” she questioned.

Curran said there was no difference, the men had been fishing in the same area for the past 12 years without incident.

Legislator James Reagan called the situation “disturbing,” saying the situation could very likely have been a misunderstanding by multiple parties involved.

“To begin disrupting a tournament that is already underway, really is disturbing. I really think a mistake was made by someone, somewhere, who wasn’t aware of the significance of these events. Mistakes happen and it’s up to us to help bring it to the attention of those who can make sure it is addressed and doesn’t happen again” Reagan said.

Legislator Tony Arquitt spoke of a similar situation that occurred nearly 10 years ago, when New York State changed regulations for displaying snowmobile registration stickers.

In that case, many riders were fined for improper placement of their stickers by a handful of “overly aggressive” officers who were acting in accordance with new state regulations that riders were not made aware of, Arquitt said.

“Heavy hitters came in from Albany and helped avoid law enforcement pushing down on us in that case. At the end of it, I think that all parties agreed that there was a middle ground. Law enforcement serves a valuable purpose and we need them out there but again, there were a few very aggressive ones for a couple of different branches of law enforcement and we asked them to address those individuals. You know, those issues went away for a long long time,” Arquitt said.

Arquitt also said the current situation was “saddening to hear,” saying that there are still a few names that surface quite regularly in one or two branches of law enforcement when incidents like this occur. Arquitt suggested it “may be time to reconvene with local law enforcement branches to settle it” to avoid further disruptions and potential conflict moving forward.

Arquitt also called upon Legislator Dave Forsythe to expand on the meeting held 10 years ago, as Forsythe played a key role in the conversation between law enforcement, county officials and recreational trail riders.

Forsythe called into question just where the directive came from, saying New York State issued a directive against snowmobilers 10 years prior without informing local officials. “Later on in the meeting (10 years ago) the director of snowmobiling for the NYS Department of Parks and Recreation admitted it was he who had decided to change where you could put your decal on your snowmobile and the decision had been made in Albany to direct parks and rec, our park police, to go and enforce it. And I know I was very upset that individuals were blaming the officers instead of addressing the fact that this was an actual directive from Albany to do this and go after our snowmobilers,” he said.

Forsythe said it was likely a directive from the state to limit fishing at Brandy Brook to specific areas, not the police involved, and that the police were not the ones who put the signs up.

“That’s why we, as a legislative body, need to register our objections because this is a policy, a decision being made by someone somewhere else. And the officers, as often happens, get to be the heavies and get to carry out the directive from above and I don’t think they deserve to be blamed. I think it’s important we address the real issue and that is, people should be allowed to fish from the shore, people should be allowed to use that boat launch, the state of NY need to support our efforts to hold these fishing tournaments here in St. Lawrence County throughout the year,” Forsythe said.

Legislator Nicole Terminelli echoed the prior sentiments, addressing the huge economic impact the tournaments may have and the negative impact that over policing could have.

Terminelli took a different approach however, as she called into question whether the incident may be isolated or not.

“Enough of us (legislators) sit in districts that host fishing tournaments. I think we need to collect our data and determine what sort of impact this may have and find out whether this is an isolated incident,” she said.

Terminelli said it was crucial the legislature take appropriate steps and assess the situation completely before making a determination, not wanting to “insinuate they (law enforcement) aren’t working cooperatively with us, as a whole, because of an isolated incident.”

The Finance Committee opted to table the resolution in favor of conducting further research but is expected to revisit the measure again in the coming weeks.