On July 26, the Gloucester City Council approved an ordinance that would prohibit fishing from the newly-revamped Freedom Pier.
The pier -- that reopened in December -- gave fishermen a great site to casts their lines. But due to some alleged disobedience, the sport was banned from the nearly century-old dock.
Mayor William James tells the Courier Times that a few “knuckleheads” ruined it for everyone.
“We spent over a million dollars fixing the place up and making it accessible to the public,” James said. “And initially we didn’t mind people going out there fishing. But then we had people leaving their cut-up bait and fish guts... They were stealing the bolts from the benches to use as weights. We had to take some action.”
The ordinance still has to go through a public hearing and a second reading on Thursday, even though “No Fishing” signs are already up on the pier.
