A tip from the U.S. Coast Guard turned into a major bust off Cape Cod. Early on the morning of August 5th, Massachusetts Environmental Police officers responded to a report of a fisherman with suspected illegal commercial striped bass in the Ryders Cove area of Chatham.
Officers found the fisherman in possession of 18 striped bass, all of it landed on a closed commercial day. Six of those fish came in under the 35-inch minimum size limit for commercial striped bass. Further investigation showed the fisherman had landed double commercial limit for a single day.
In total, officers seized 324 pounds of striped bass. The fish were forfeited to the Commonwealth following a civil libel hearing, which came with a $1,863.00 penalty. On top of that, the fisherman was issued a Massachusetts Environmental Violation Notice totaling an additional $2,905.80 — bringing the total financial hit to nearly $4,800.
Massachusetts Environmental Police credited the U.S. Coast Guard for its partnership and assistance in the case, and used the bust as a reminder that officers are patrolling state waters daily to enforce striped bass regulations and protect the fishery for everyone else playing by the rules. Anyone who witnesses a natural resource violation is encouraged to call the Environmental Police’s 24-hour dispatch line at 1-800-632-8075.
Absolutely disgusting. This commercial fisherman will be one of the first to complain when the stripers are gone. We need to start posting violators names and vessel names.
Better yet this perp should forfeit his commercial license for life and not to be allowed to even fish recreationally for stripers. He gives the legit commercial guys a black eye. I have fished for Stripers from the 1950s to Present day and what I have seen both recreationally and commercially is disgusting. I am very surprised we even have Stripers left to pursue. In 2013 when boats were able to gill net for dogfish, the by catch were Stripers and were discarded back dead. My estimation was well over 1,000 lbs. seen floating on the water on the backside by the Golf ball, (FAA Radar on the old North Truro AFB). Time to start policing our own and protect the fisheries for the future.