PUNTA GORDA, Fla. – A video, viewed more than eight million times, shows a boat captain arguing with a fisherman, then climbing onto his boat to demand an apology.
The video is taken from the boat of a young fisherman, Gage Towles, along Punta Gorda’s coast.
That’s when the charter captain of another boat pulls up and has words with the young fisherman over some perceived light issue earlier in the day, which appears to be a case of mistaken identity.
Dig deeper:
The charter captain becomes more aggressive and threatens to beat up the fisherman, jumping onto his boat.
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The fisherman repeatedly asks him to leave and tries to calm down the situation.
“There was some violence there. That guy was coming on that boat,” said Captain Kevin Little, a Tampa Bay area captain who owns Old Florida Adventures Fishing Charters.
Little has spent 25 years chartering his own boat.
“You do see more and more of this rage on the water, and people getting aggravated,” Little said.
Local perspective:
He understands why the boating and angler community is so outraged over the video.
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“We’re supposed to, as captains, as merchant marines, we’re supposed to take the high road,” said Little. “There’s nobody that owns the water. Everybody can fish the water.”
He said boat rage is real and thinks things could have gotten worse.
“For that man to step on that boat, he’s trespassing now, and in Florida, we got a right to stand our ground law,” Little said. “That would be like somebody trying to rip your door open, come in on you and take you out of the car.”
What they’re saying:
The video has gotten so much attention that Punta Gorda police are asking people “not” to report it anymore. They say they are investigating.
The Coast Guard is also investigating the incident, saying it has jurisdiction over the merchant mariner’s credentials and can suspend or revoke them.
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“He was scared for his life. In my thoughts, there’s some kind of penalty that needs to be paid for this,” said Little.
FOX 13 reached out to the captain for a comment but has not heard back.
The maker of the boat in the video, Pathfinder, issued a statement condoning what happened, clarifying they do not have an affiliation with the captain or his charter company.
Other charter companies with similar names are also facing online attacks.
At least one company posted a letter addressed to President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis urging the revocation of the captains’ boating license, saying that his actions damage the reputation of the commercial fishing industry.
The Source: FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis collected the information in this story.
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