Harbormaster prohibiting fishing in harbor during carferry departure, return

August 22, 2024

‘Over the last week, there have been numerous occasions when the S.S. Badger has encountered boats that failed to give way. In some cases, the captain of the S.S. Badger was forced to take actions to avoid a collision.’

LUDINGTON — The Ludington Police Department has issued a harbormaster order, limiting the hours that people can fish in the Ludington Harbor due to dangerous conditions caused by boats not yielding to the S.S. Badger carferry, which ports there.

Ludington Police Chief Chris Jones issued the following press release Thursday, Aug. 22,  in regard to the harbormaster order:

“LPD has been made aware of dangerous conditions due to the large number of boats in the harbor, for the purpose of fishing. Over the last week, there have been numerous occasions when the S.S. Badger has encountered boats that failed to give way. In some cases, the captain of the S.S. Badger was forced to take actions to avoid a collision. It is important to remember that the harbor is primarily a channel for navigation, and only secondarily, a fishing location. The S.S. Badger is not able to maneuver around the many smaller boats that have taken up residency in the harbor, due to the abundant fish. The United States Coast Guard, Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol, and Ludington Police Department will be working together to enforce Harbormaster Order 24-10, as well as an accompanying USCG order, similar in nature. The order was not created in haste, but rather out of caution, and as a result of the failure of boaters and those fishing, to give way to a much larger vessel, creating a hazardous environment. We would like to thank the fishing and boating communities for their anticipated cooperation. We will revisit this order on a regular basis, to determine its effectiveness and need.”

Harbormaster order 24-01 states the following:

“A need has been established to temporarily and periodically prohibit fishing and other non-transitory activities, within the City of Ludington Harbor. For the purposes of this order, the City of Ludington Harbor western boundary shall be identified as the area between the pier heads and the eastern boundary shall be a straight line between the west point of the Ludington Youth Sailing School (LYSS) and the shore directly to the west. Under the authority given by City Ordinance, Sec. 66-29, adopted by the City Council of the City of Ludington, the Harbormaster prohibits fishing and other non-transitory activities, within the City of Ludington Harbor, during the days and times identified below. This order is effective on Aug. 22 through Sept. 1, 2024, based on the day of the week, from:

  • Monday: 5:45 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m.through 7:15 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 8:15 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 7:15 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 8:15 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 7:15 p.m.
  • Thursday: 8:15 a.m.through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 9:15 p.m.
  • Friday: 5:45 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 9:15 p.m.
  • Saturday: 5:45 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m.through 9:15 p.m. S
  • Sunday: 5:45 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 9:15 p.m.
  • Additionally, this order is in effect Sept. 2 through Sept. 15, 2024 from 8:15 a.m. through 9:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. through 7:15 p.m.”

___________________________________________

Please Support Local News

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.

The easiest way is to sign up for an automatic monthly payment on Paypal. Click this link.
Alternative methods:
We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
If you would like to support MCP/OCP but do not wish to receive daily emails, please consider sending a contribution to any of the above methods or pay by Venmo (@masoncountypress).

_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.
fb.com/stars