January 12, 2014 — The Conservation Commission ratified enforcement orders against four vessels Tuesday, mandating that the boat captains cease and desist from fishing up to 40 feet offshore, which is within the town's jurisdiction. The fishermen have also been ordered to submit plans to repair the area they are accused of damaging. These plans must be approved by the Conservation Commission, said Dennis Minsky, commission chairman.
But as of Wednesday morning, at least one of the boats, the 70-foot Tom Slaughter, of Gloucester, was out there again dredging clams, McKinsey said.
The fishermen don’t have to obey the local regulation because the state Division of Marine Fisheries, which has jurisdiction over fishing, allows it, said Monte Rome, owner of the Tom Slaughter.
"Provincetown has no authority," he said. "The enforcement orders are paper tigers. There is nothing to them."
The state looked at this issue back in 2007 and after conducting studies of the area, the Division of Marine Fisheries Director Paul Diodati wrote to the Conservation Commission to say, in fact, the area off Herring Cove is suitable for hydraulic dredging.
Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times