(09:39) MONTEREY – Two Monterey fishermen have been sued for taking a government-owned buoy. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the U.S. Geological Survey and alleges that Daniel Sherer and Patrick Anderson with A&S Fisheries Inc. potentially damaged the data-collecting instrument when they found it adrift after a storm in January. After the discovery, Sherer and Anderson reached out to the USGS and demanded $45,000 in compensation for its return, claiming they had the legal right to claim the buoy as their own property. After several requests for the buoy’s return, government officials filed the lawsuit. The buoy was one of several anchored in the Monterey Canyon in an effort to collect data on underwater avalanches. (S.G.)
