Today’s Catch

Boatbuilder
When I was a boy my father, who was the editor of Fishermen’s News, took me to meet a man who built boats on Seattle’s Lake Union. His name was Dave LeClerq, and he lived in a house on pilings off of Westlake Avenue, with moorage underneath. Mr. LeClerq invited us in to chat, then took us down to see a boat he had just built. Someone had given him a one-cylinder diesel engine, he said, “so I built a boat to go around it.”

Dave LeClerq died in early June, but he leaves behind a legacy of satisfied customers.

Boats for Vets
Another Dave, British rocker Dave Mason, never built boats but he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mason is well known for the songs he wrote and performed in groups including Traffic, and Fleetwood Mac, and his collaborations with Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and even Michael Jackson.

One of Mason’s latest projects is Work Vessels for Veterans (www.workvesselsforvets.org). The all-volunteer movement helps returning veterans begin their civilian careers or educational pursuits by acquiring and distributing the necessary start-up tools.

John Niekrash, a commercial lobsterman in Connecticut, founded Work Vessels For Veterans and donated his boat to a returning US Marine last April. Niekrash needed a bigger boat, and rather than sell his old one, he offered it to Marine Reservist Richard Giguere of Rhode Island, who now operates it commercially in Narragansett Bay and has become a member of the foundation’s board of directors.

The Foundation is developing relationships in many industry sectors to secure necessary products for distribution, ranging from computers to boats to tractors. All donations of products or services are directly distributed to veterans and all financial contributions are used to acquire, prepare or enhance those items to be gifted.

Rocker Mason is on the board of advisors and is helping raise money and awareness for the foundation through some of his shows, as well as his new CD, titled 26 Letters ~12 Notes.

Dead Cat Bounce
Seattle’s Pike Place Market is home to some of the best public relations the commercial fishing industry could hope for. Stalls full of fresh-caught salmon, halibut, crab and shellfish on ice bring crowds of tourists with cameras and often hard currency. One such stall, Pike Place Fish Market, is home to the fishmongers who throw fish to each other to the delight of visitors and customers. The fish store started out with the goal of being world famous (they added the term to all of their shipping and promotional materials), and is now a popular tourist destination in Seattle, attracting up to 10,000 daily visitors. The fishmongers also hire themselves out to perform at seminars and conferences.

Pike Place Fish has also attracted the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who have decided that throwing fish is akin to throwing dead kittens (seriously), and has promised to protest a Veterinarians convention (AVMA) in July that had hired the fishmongers to perform as part of a motivational presentation.

“Fish feel pain and fear just like dogs and cats do,” says PETA spokeshuman Lindsay Rajt. “Really, morally, there is no difference between throwing around dead kittens and throwing around dead fish.”

PETA has offered to replace all the dead fish with rubber fish instead. “It would be fun without supporting the cruel fishing industry,” she says.

Maybe, but the 4th of July picnic wouldn’t be nearly as much fun with the “rubber kitten” toss.

Chris Philips