Keith Lusher 04.30.25
In what might be the most creative form of maritime protest the Outer Banks has seen, local angler Dave Harding is planning to take his fight against fishing regulations to new depths, all while floating atop an inflatable dinosaur.
The unusual protest comes after a rare opportunity for shore-based anglers was abruptly halted earlier this month. For a brief period in April, bluefin tuna, which are massive fish typically found miles offshore, made an unexpected appearance near Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, giving pier anglers the chance of a lifetime.
That is, until federal regulators stepped in.
A representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) delivered the deflating news: shore-based anglers are prohibited from fishing for, catching, landing, or keeping bluefin tuna without a vessel permit, which, by definition, requires having a vessel.
“An insane law demands an insane protest,” declared Harding, a representative for the pier-fishing advocacy group Fishing Piers, as he proudly displayed his solution: a cartoonish inflatable dinosaur float he’s named “TunaSauras.”
In a move that has both bewildered and amused state officials, Harding has successfully registered his pool toy as an official North Carolina vessel and obtained the required permit for catching highly migratory species like bluefin tuna.
“I can now go fish legally from the pier, from the water, and be able to legally retain the tuna,” Harding explained while holding his newly registered vessel for local news cameras.
The regulation at the center of the controversy requires all vessels, not all persons, that fish for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species to have a vessel permit. The seemingly minor wording distinction effectively bars anyone without access to a boat from participating in the bluefin fishery, even when the fish swim within casting distance of shore.
“This is access discrimination; this is economic discrimination,” Harding argues. “Why are they banning fishermen who are having such a low yield, even taking part in this?”
The crackdown went beyond just stopping the fishing. NOAA officials also instructed Jennette’s Pier management to remove all references to the bluefin bite from their social media platforms, claiming such posts were “promoting an illegal activity.”
Local angler Tyler Parker voiced his frustration online: “This is a classic example of government overreach. Punishing those who can’t afford or don’t want a boat over a stupid $25 permit that does nothing except take money from your pocket into theirs.”
When Harding approached the licensing office with his inflatable dinosaur, officials were puzzled but couldn’t find grounds to reject his application. According to Harding, the “USS TunaSauras” meets all technical requirements to be classified as a vessel.
“Technically, yes — if I was sitting on this in an inch of water, even on the shore, there’s no regulations that said the vessel has to be in the water,” Harding explained.
A protest was planned for Saturday, with Harding inviting other anglers to join him with their own registered inflatables. A petition is also circulating calling for changes to regulations that many see as unfairly excluding shore-based fishermen from participating in a rare opportunity.
For now, it seems the battle between inflatable dinosaurs and federal fisheries management is just beginning to heat up on the Outer Banks, giving new meaning to the phrase “whatever floats your boat.”
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