Tredn’ Water #17

(Originally published Sep/Oct 2016)

A Very Special Place

By Capt. Tred Barta

The northeastern canyons represent one of the greatest engines of life ever known. Those of us who have been privileged to spend time between the Baltimore Canyon and Oceanographers Canyon have seen miracles of life unfold before our very eyes. Often, pure Gulf Stream water charges down the 100 fathom line in a clockwise funnel called a warm core eddy, which slams straight into a canyon wall, driving the nutrients and baitfish up toward the surface.

In addition, the collision includes colder water, which makes for a perfect storm of life in a very concentrated area. It is here that you often see whales, porpoise, man-o-war jellyfish, gulls, and mother chickens. Great ink marks are visible on the surface of the ocean that go from a dirty greenish blue to a cobalt blue along a knife’s edge. This is where Thunnus obesus (bigeye tuna) will attack a spread of lures and baits with a vengeance. It is here where an 850-pound blue marlin travels in from the Gulf Stream in search of yellowfin tuna, bonita, and perhaps your right rigger.

It is here in this cornucopia of life that one Capt. Tred Barta helped discover 30 years ago. It is a place of reverence. I equate it to the sanctity of a Christmas dinner or like walking into church. It is such an incredible privilege just to be there. It is a privilege to bring our children there and watch the tenacity of nature unfold.

It is a privilege to harvest the great fish that we catch and to take care of our catch, bring it home, to eat it, and freeze it.

Yes, everyone, it is the journey not the destination. I do not believe that there is anyone reading this magazine who would not believe every word that I have written so far. I personally am humbled by the canyons because it shows me how insignificant I am in the grand scheme of things.

I know that many of you will literally make fun of what I am about to say. But of course I will say it anyway. To come to the canyon and to use foul language on the radio uttering one four-letter word after another is a disgrace. The conduct over the VHF radio and unfortunately now on the single side band is something we don’t want our children to hear. We don’t expect this language around the family table, in church, and we sure don’t expect this language in one of the most revered place in our hearts – the Northeast canyons.

It is bad enough that we fill the canyons with the boats that we drive, often diluting the area with manmade garbage. It is bad enough that some still tie off to lobster pots that can disrupt the lobsterman’s business. It is enough that we often kill more than what we should and take home more than we can use. Do we need to throw over the VHF language that defiles the area itself? It is my opinion that the language on the radio is getting worse. It is my opinion that a new breed of canyon fishermen is being born who respect nothing.

When we lose respect for nature and ourselves, we are no longer great men and no longer a great society. I am hereby requesting a favor from the great captains. Please do not let this happen and please call out bad behavior on the radio by saying something to stop it.

I am sure many of you by now are saying that I am a bigot, that I have no right to make the statements which I am making. You know in your heart that I am right about this problem. During my tenure in the canyons this type of behavior was never present. When you heard someone on the radio you knew that if you were within earshot, that person would come and help you in a nanosecond if you needed help. It was reassuring and it was a time boats could share information. If you were having good luck, perhaps the other boats could benefit from your good fortune. I use more bad language than I am proud of but I do not use profanity on the VHF especially in a place I have reverence for, the Northeast canyons.

I heard the quote, “Bad things happen when good people stand by and do nothing.” I am hereby crying out to all great Northeast canyon captains to stop the profanity we hear today on the radio. I ask you to bring this topic up in your fishing clubs. I ask that you have enough guts to comment when people use bad language on the radio and set an example by not saying it yourself.

My name is Capt. Tred Barta. I have spent entire seasons when I have only seen 10 or 15 boats total from June to September in these canyons. I have traveled east along the Bigeye Highway, the 43300 line, so far east that the only boats around were the Japanese and Russian longliners. I beg everyone from my wheelchair to make our conduct equal to the sanctity and reverence of the greatest place on earth. I thank you in advance.

Til next tide,

Tred’n Water
Capt. Tred Barta