BALTIMORE SUN -A Tilghman Island waterman was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison followed by six months of home detention for poaching tens of thousands of pounds of rockfish from the Chesapeake Bay.U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett said Michael D. Hayden, Jr., 43, received the longest sentence of four men convicted in the poaching scheme because he had obstructed justice by threatening a witness.
Hayden’s sentence was the last of four to be handed down in a striped bass poaching scheme that illegally harvested 92 tons of striped bass.
Read more about the other sentences here.
Good to see some jail time for these ass holes I certainly hope they end up having a terrible time in prison… I also hope once they are home fellow sportsman shame them wherever they go!
Should of hit him where it hurts ,a nice big fine! Scumbags!!
Maybe they will get pouched in jail. Horrible people and I wish they would have gotten a lot more time
the better sentence would b the house arrest with only arranged visits for the whole term so that it didn’t cost the tax payers
Unfortunately, the sentence does not help the fishing community.
It does help the fishing community by keep these guys from harvesting these fish illegally.
They destroyed fishing and the ecosystem plus , nights I’ve payed my dues and zero catches attributes to them.They should get 25
This guy kills over 92 tons of beautiful fish gets 30days Bhahahahaha i toook some change outta a cpl cars got a year and a half , -_- hmmmmmmm
And you deserved every day of it. Hope you learned your lesson.
How’S about a Striped Bass(tard) eating Kontest………. & you guessed it,,,, just one Kontestant!!!!! The new world record 999 lbs in one meal…..WheW!!!!!
Stripe bass are worse that you think asshole they eat lobsters and shad making a honest fisherman’s living very hard
Why are you calling someone an *******???… you might want us all to think that the ocean and its bounty exists only for you and that because you choose to scrape a living from the ocean, that you might be the only one with an valid opinion on how any resource should be managed. Well… all I have to do is look at the cod fishery and the reality is that the commercial guy did it to them selves… too dam greedy and too dam late to change!.
Will your a A**hole !
Last I checked you can’t giver lobsters away most places because there are so many so I don’t think Stripers are the problem.
WoW!! A commercial that is an honest one. A very rare thing and the attitude suggests probably not one either.
These giuys were caught doing this MANY times before with only a slap on the wrist. Perhaps if the law (enforcement and penalties) had been firmer, the damage done would have been minimized ? How does enforcement work in your fishing neighbor hood ?
no they were not
waw this is good….
He probably got the majority of the time for the witness tampering. I didn’t see if they confiscated the boat. If not they will back out doing it again as soon as they can
They should have gotten a whole lot more for this heinous crime federal government comes down hard with very strict regs concerning fish quotas and it hurts the charter business as well as the sport it’s self. Make the sentences for these law breakers tougher and let fishing remain in good spirits as charters and a responsible profession.
Should have gotten 18 YEARS, not months!
Ive heard about people keeping much more than their share of strippers . It usually old timers that didn’t have any restrictions when they grew up. The people who went to jail took much more than they could consider their share and deserve what they got
Assholes like this will make it so our children won’t be able to striper fish! Should have received 5 years in federal!! Better than the sentence I will hand down if I ever see him!
all talk
No matter how you try to spin it he’s a Felon / Convicted criminal….
A weak sentence…he’s a low life thief stealing from our children s future. More time behind bars and larger fines. take his home , sell his boat and have the proceeds go to rebuilding the fishery.
You nailed it perfectly.
not enough time still got away with it. thay probley the money stash when thay get out
They wound up having to pay a $500,000.oo fine.
Truth is, the damage caused by these outlaws is minute, in comparison to damage caused by lack of data. Due to an underfunded NJ marine fisheries.
Honestly there are so many bass now a days the biggest part of that is they were using nets in the bay think if everything else they killed and the jail sentence well it is league in a few places now just not federal waters where no one can fish for them so the time is okay and anyone who had the balls and the ability to do it for the right price would have
thank you mark
Instead of balls and ability I see it as greed and no morals … take what you want and F the law and everybody else.
SO MANY BASS? population is getting thinner every year. Stop and think about the impact on breeding that 92 tons of less striper does to the overall population. I agree with others, being a known poacher and getting slaps on the wrist for the first few violations is a joke- you poach the sentences should be just like mandatory drug laws- frikin greed and lies- This striper population needs all the help we can give it. Catch and Release is always the right thing to do.
these fish are over restricted and these are good hard working men who only wanted the same thing as everyone else the best for there families and went the extra mile to do so it happens all over every day the over stock stripedbass will decimate ten other species before the regulations are lifted men are the stewards of the sea fishermen are the reason all the fish are still here many of you dont know these men but I do and they are good hard working people and I have worked with mike hayden for fifteen years I trust him with my life and would like to have him in my fox hole any time all the extra tags were bout from other fishermen to help there families and community ,taxes were claimed and paid for they were on cards for dozens of men who worked together for the good of the people and they took the blame for it all
Your an idiot!
Bud you are also part of the problem
Is that all one sentence? Can’t understand any of it.
What a meat head. Some guys will say anything to justify how f****d up they are. We as the recreational community always get blamed for why a resource is stressed. It`s money from meat heads like this that are funneled to crooked politicians that ultimately lead to us getting screwed. Lock um up and throw away the key.
Drag him thru the Chesapeake in his own nets. When he croaks, grind up his ass and sell him for chum. He affected generations of stripers for years to come.
It’s really sad the the people of Tilghman Island have rallied around these poachers. One article said the marina offered to dock and maintain one the guys boats for free while he was in jail and the city is also holding his position as fire chief apon release. There boats should be taken and they should have to repay all money earned
One year in jail for each ton sounds fair to me. Same penalty should apply to tandem trawlers catching tons of herring beyond what they are legally allowed and to whoever is buying fish from poachers. Spent too many years on the water watching bait fish and game fish populations dwindle.
I’m curious how has the fishing changed in the last 10 years?Do you have more drum and rock now or in the past?Where exactly do you live?
If this happened in the New England area, stripper fishermen would have policed the situation by sinking thier boat and destroying thier fishing equipment. Stipper fishing is our sickness and we almost lost the fishery once, we make sure it will never happen again.
Hopefully your fishing for Stripers and not strippers!
THEY DO NOT THINK IN THE NEXT GENERATION.
what the article doesn’t tell ya is 78 of those tons were legally landed and the other fish were caught over a ten year period I don’t know sny fisherman who.hasn’t taken.a lil more than there share a thousand pounds a year did nothing but good to this fishery if ya havnt your a liar or a woosie
A couple spear fisherman and a commercial captain took 900+ pounds from LI sound in one haul. All got slaps in the wrist. One of the spear guys got a $300 fine and community service. I’m sure he did that multiple times every summer and will be out there again this summer doing it again. Take their boats and van them from fishing. If they get caught with gear or fishing throw them in jail. Unfortunately commercial guys live for today and whine in the future when the fishery is gone.
The point is, the rules apply to everyone. If you break the rules there must be consequences it is as simple as that!
Bud, I don’t even pretend to know what you guys are up against in the commercial rockfish fishery in the Chesapeake Bay, but I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to gill net rockfish. In Massachusetts they have rod & reel fishery, with a 30 fish a day bag limit. I thought that was kind of excessive, but it has a million pound quota and that’s it. The price is good for one day and then levels out to about $2.00 to $2.15 a pound until the season ends. The quota is for the boat so 1-2 guys have all they can do to fill the daily quota, you wind up having to catch 100-130 fish to get all the 32″ limit fish for your quota. Gillnets don’t discriminate and kill everything, and I speak from experience, I’ve commercial fished from the 66th parallel to the 22nd and a lot of places in between. You can not over fish a species with hook and line, you can deplete a stock but cannot send it into a over utilized species that way.It’s simple mathematics, once a stock stops being commercially viable, the commercial fishery moves on to another species.
“Bud Curtiswhat the article doesn’t tell ya is 78 of those tons were legally landed and the other fish were caught over a ten year period I don’t know sny fisherman who.hasn’t taken.a lil more than there share a thousand pounds a year did nothing but good to this fishery if ya havnt your a liar or a woosie”
SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU DESERVE A CELL RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR BUDDY
The penalty doesn’t fit the crime. They should be sentenced for the amount of time it would take to replenish to stock which they slaughtered.
Their greed is disgusting!
It’s just not fair to those of us who have abided by the rules our whole life.
I hope every piece of material they own has been confiscated which they used to obtain their illegal quarry.
the regulations that are in place are there not to protect species that are in decline. They are there so Wal-mart can sell you chinese Talapia and that offshore fish processors won’t have the competition from honest hardworking baymen. Would you buy talapia from wal-mart if you could eat snook, red snapper or even striped bass.
That’s why the fisheries are over-regulated …because the corporations that have taken over this country don’t have any competition from family businesses. How many mom and pop grocery stores are left?
Ban them for fishing for life they have effectively ruined a fishery all the way up the east coast to Maine. How many fish friendly people won’t be able to catch their one or 2 fish, what about our youth we teach them conservation.
He should have to pay 250.00 dollars for every fish over 2 per day the same as if it was one of us
So why not take their license, boat, ALL gear, fine them and then send them to Prison. Putting a more restrictive limit on Rec fishermen while this crap continues is NO answer. Close the fish house that purchased these fish- Permanently !
right on bros!! we need a few million more like you!!!
I use to say only in Alabama,but I see I am wrong.
God put the fish here for man to eat, not for a political play thing. These fish were not wasted but went to feed many who benefited from the God given food. Praise God and may God forgive those greedy sport fisherman.
Greedy sum like this ruin it for the true fishermen..these commercial fishermen are pigs!
On the African plains, a cheetah looks at a herd of gazelle, finds the weakest, hunts it down, and kills it for food.
In the Rocky Mountains, a mountain lion sees a herd of deer, hunts one, and eats its meal.
In an urban city, a falcon sees a flock of pigeons, picks one out, and kills it to survive.
Man is the only species that will see a school of fish, and figures a way to catch, and kill……………
………….them all.
Guys
Look at what the defenders of these scumbags say to justify their actions
They say there are plenty of fish
They blame walmart
We need to engage them
Somehow show them books ( if they could read) about the probable extinction of cod
How there used to be 12 foot sturgeon in our rivers
About the passenger pigeon and great auk which are both
extinct
Maybe as part of the sentence they study and teach there friends the truth
With a 20 year sentence in jail they would have plenty of time
The argument that these guys were only trying to support their families is Bogus! One guy a Firechief? If they can’t make enough money through Legal types of fishing, then they should get another job, or a part time job. Many people are struggling to make ends meet, but it doesn’t give you the right to break the Law. Hey, I came from dirt poor, no welfare but my family didn’t go out breaking the Laws to put clothes on my back. I got hand me downs, had sneakers with holes worn through the bottoms, put Linolium pieces in sneaker so I didn’t get hurt stepping on a pebble. And I had to avoid puddles. YET, we didn’t steal. And Pouching is stealing from everyone one else. No excuse for it!
Forgive me if i sound naive, but who bought these ill gotten fish and were they prosecuted?
Not nearly enough jail time!!! Problem is our country is being run by a bunch of bleeding heart liberals who can’t find a punishment to fit the crime!! A slap on the wrist!! these men will be back at it in no time… old school justice is what’s needed! Hopefully some fishermen who know these low life’s applies a little of it…
Much of our ocean resources have been “clear cut” like a forest. Look at the documented history of the Cod/Haddock catch in New England. There is no commercial cod fishery on Cape Cod ! We don’t even give nature the time to grow back. The sustainable harvesting capacity of our oceans is far higher. That means more fish for everybody. But it has to be managed. And we have to let them grow back in size and numbers. We can’t be stripping the fishery clean in the wrong places (small, reproducing) and expect to have a productive ocean. And we have to all behave with honor, and demand as much from one another, and our government regulators. That is the only way this can work out favorably long term for us, and our descendents. If not, the fishery will be gone, and all that will be left is trash and algae.
The point that hasn’t been brought up here is this guy is a Fire chief with a full time job and benefits I’m sure, and he still feels the need to steal to support his family? Bud Curtis your a dope. I was a commercial fisherman for 25 years with two off-shore boats. We hated some of the regs but adhered to every one of them. I truly fed my family 100% from the sea for 25 years and never had to steal or break the rules so Fuck you guys and your sorry ass excuses about cheating once in a while being normal or if you didn’t it’s because you didn’t have the balls. I had the balls and I didn’t. Furthermore I enjoyed many a day slapping sorry fucks like you around for fucking with my livelihood. Where I come from, we would burn his boat and then blow a couple holes in the bottom with a shotgun to sink it and put out the fire. Fucking Morons
Very well said Liberty!!!
These guys are all family related, grandfathers, uncles, cousins and feel that this resource is theirs! They don’t have any regard for the law and plunder all the sea has to offer with no respect for anything. One can only wonder how long these generations people have been plundering this resource before being caught, waterfowl included! Oh and one thing for sure the punishment and fine did not fit the CRIME! He will be back and so will his friends and family, one can only hope!
Yes we won’t stop I’ve been poaching for years undetected and have made alot of money more than one could imagine I’m willing to go to jail for 13 months lol.
You stupid tree huggers are just mmad you can’t catch fish I’m catching plenty lol lol
Amen to that Liberty. their just a bunch of greedy scumbags.
I should hope these fines go toward striper conservation!
Striper conservation lol you can’t stop poachers imagine how many fish are poached every year undetected.
The little ones are the best eating
Yes! . . . Liberty . . . Yes ! ! ! , to your every word, & every sediment !!!!
Revoke their fishing licenses for life
Why not make them work in a stripper hatchery for two years instead of going to prison and use their boat to distribute the fingerlings.
No different than what OMEGA PROTEIN in Reedville, VA does. Except they spend big money to pay for lobyist. Virginia is the only state that allow these boats like omega to fish in bay and rivers and look what has happened!
Thanks for mentioning Omega Protein, which vacuums up entire schools of bunker and converts them into cat food and lipstick.
Consider joining the Coastal Conservation Association if you want a voice at the policy level. You can bet your ass these guys do:
http://omegaprotein.com/chesapeake-bay-fishery-harvest-cap-extension-initiated/
If you fly from new england down to VA or further south you pass over the Bay, when I do this I’m glued to the window and sometimes you can actually see the menhaden boats encircling and entire school of bunker. Bye bye.