For almost 2 years, the fishing pier at the mouth of Government Cut has been fenced off with ominous warning signs. For the past half century preceding - the pier has given access to deep-sea fishing to those who have neither the time nor money for deep-sea fishing in the Bahama Banks.

Avid and amateur fishermen alike gathered there 24/7 - some with hand lines, others with state of the art casting reels. It’s always been a favorite for Father and Son fishing trips, as well as immigrant workmen relaxing on a day off, to those who may have almost no other way to eat.

Suddenly, in late 2004 chain link fencing went up - along with signs warning of severe penalties to those who dared venture to the other side of the fence.

When I asked a local police patrol the reason, he would only say it had been closed because ” kids jump off it ” and that the matter had been left to the Miami Beach City Council to decide.

Now, in the interest of some paper pusher’s zeal for “safety ” those who still wish to fish the open seas and cannot afford $ 1000 a day for a charter must crawl and jump over the slippery half mile jetty to cast their lines-usually losing their hooks and sinkers on the rocks while battling ocean waves.

Is the real motive safety - or is the plan to turn the pier into another money maker ? - charging people for what once was free - such as the fishing pier north of Haulover where one must pay $ 5 to park, another $ 3 per person to enter- making a morning for Dad and 2 sons to be $14 just to enter their pier.

In the mean time the fishing pier rots, while stagnant city bureaucrats could care less.

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