William Armenia said he installed a plastic thatch on his roof to catch falling leaves or branches from a nearby flame tree in the area where the containers for the fish that he catches are placed.
But a few days after the thatch was installed, a zoning officer called him and ordered that he remove it or he would be fined.
Armenia said the thatch is necessary to keep his roadside fishing stall sanitary in accordance with Bureau of Environmental Health requirements.
He said the Zoning Office also ordered him to remove the 10×10 tent he installed.
The fisherman said his son-in-law Michael R. White is the proprietor of the fishing stall.
Armenia’s job is to catch the fish and maintain the stall.
He said the Zoning Office is making it difficult for him because its personnel don’t come to the site but are just making phone calls.
Armenia said their fishing company got its license from Hawaii to do bottom-fishing on Saipan.
He said every fish they catch and the location where it was taken must be logged.
Unlike the local zoning personnel, Armenia said federal authorities take the time to explain what should be done to correct problems with their operations.
Armenia said David C. Hamm, the chief of the Fisheries Monitoring and Socioeconomic Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who is based on Hawaii, went to Saipan recently to educate fishermen like him how to properly log the fish they are catching and determine the location and the depth of the area.
Armenia said he is willing to abide by the rules of the Zoning Office provided they’re properly explained.
The Variety repeatedly contacted the Zoning Office for comment but there was no reply as of press time.
The Saipan Zoning Board is proposing numerous text amendments to its existing regulations.
An open house was held yesterday but this reporter was told that less than five people attended.
