On the evening of Saturday, October 8, 2016, a Massachusetts Environmental Police officer was conducting marine fisheries inspections at a Westport public boat ramp.
During an inspection, the officer observed undersized tautog in a cooler aboard the vessel. Further inspection yielded several hidden containers of tautog in and around the vessel owner’s vehicle. The vessel owner and passengers were found to be in possession of 109 tautog, 79 of which were undersized. The recreational possession limit of tautog is 3 at no less than 16 inches in length. The officer also observed a small catch of black sea bass; recreational black sea bass season closed September 1, 2016.
The vessel owner was arrested for multiple violations, booked, and released after posting bail. Three vessel passengers will also face criminal charges. The catch was not salvageable and subsequently disposed of.
Who did you catch
I hope all his gear, boat and vehical were confiscated. Fucking scum bag.
these son off bitches should have had there boat impounded forever loss off fishing license for life and thrown in jail for f****** years.It’s people like this who ruin it for everyone else.
If they where in Canada’s waters there boat & car and personnel belongings would of been history
Legally speaking since the boat and gear were instrumental to the commission of the crime, the precedent set by federal RICCO legislation could easily be extended to state and local jurisdictions since they technically qualify as “organized crime” if more than one person was involved either in the act itself or as accomplices after the fact. Are you listening state fish and game authorities????
Tbone, this is a really shitty thing for them to have done, however in NJ the commercial guys have created a scenario in which we can not catch and feed to our family large sea bass, nor fluke, but every supermarket, restaurant, and fish market are selling one or both.
If these species are over fished and require temporary moratoriums then they need to stop selling them. I have been fishing for Tog since the late 70’5 when no one wanted them. There are now fish pots lined around every wreck capturing these once plentiful fish. Fluke was a fun way to spend a few hours in the bay until it became a choice on every damn menu known to man. Pizzerias, Greek, Mexican, Chinese restaurants, chain restaurants all seem to have placed unbearable pressure on these fish, yet the restrictions become more harsh on the recreational angler every season. Here the fish must now be 18inches, and the season ended Sept 24. This is a small smoke and mirror deal to keep us from asking why commercial guys do whatever they please while the coast guard, marine fisheries, and game wardens harass us, making us lees likely to be any competition to the commercial corps.
That was a recreational fisherman not commercial for ur information. Also u should know that recreational fishermen catch way more fish of any kind than commercial fishermen do. Get ur facts straight !!
Recreational fishermen might catch more than commercial fishermen, but commercial fishermen waste more fish in their by-catch than recreational fishermen catch.
They may not have had a commercial license but I don’t think they planned on feeding their families with the fish. So wouldn’t that make this an illegal commercial fishing operation. Either way it’s not good for anyone and this shouldn’t turn into a debate on recreational vs commercial fishing.
Steve Hagony.. Your contention is that recreational anglers with rods and hooks, are out fishing boats with giant nets who sell fish to the millions of restaurants and also supply every sea food market, as well as every supermarkets who sells frozen packaged fish along with fresh fish. Sir please research, before making aberrant statements. It is sad that people are so uneducated and confused.
Good job warden
Now put these guys in jail
When will this government wake up
People like this don’t stop fishing orhunting illegally
Stricter laws will only stop this
Change the laws now!!!
Good fishing and hunting to all law abiding citizens
Go to jail for that ? Really ? U don’t have a clue as to what’s going on do u ? Do some research on “fukishima nuclear disaster” then get back to me. The gov’t is hiding the fact that the entire pacific ocean is contaminated and its only a matter of time before it spreads throughout the oceans.
there are way more recreational guys than commercial guys, get it right. About 39,000 people are commercial fishermen in the US, but anyone can fish recreationally. Commercial fishing is not the problem
Fines and penalties need to be steeper. These gents should lose their boat, gear and their ability to keep fishin’.
I have caught ~100 undersized Tog this season. Dozens that need just a few more months to hit 16″. Protect the species, protect the fishery. Let the little fellas go. Despicable.
Absolutely agree. Municipalities and State agencies always point to insufficient personnel to “catch’em all.” Well quadruple the damn fines, take all the gear on first offenses, take the license on 2nd offenses and for god sake take the boat on 3rd strike (auction or use for more interdiction like in drug “war”). Make catching these bastards a profitable endeavor that pays for the agencies that provide enforcement. Either one of two things will happen. Enforcement and catch rates will pay for the efforts, or lawful compliance will rise making the greater lever of enforcement unnecessary (and we know 2nd option ain’t gonna happen).
ST, I couldn’t agree more. The costs incurred with these penalties will need minimal resources (administration and space to house confiscated equipment). These offenses are not only effecting the fish stocks but also robbing others of the use of the resource.
should of taken the boat and gear auction it off and apply the money to more enforcement of the rules and laws………………………
really good comment- enforcement should adopt it
What does “disposed of” mean?
Brett – It means that they weren’t sent to market or food shelters or anywhere involved with human consumption.
It could mean a number of different things, but likely that they were dumped back into the ocean to become fodder for those lucky fish that survived these dumbass, inconsiderate cooler-fillers, or that they were handed over to local fishermen to bait traps, pots, etc.
It means they kept the fish for themselves. The EP can be corrupted.
Great, the guy does his job and now he’s the bad guy. Got a fishing license?
Meaning that the game wardens had a fish fry….
Good job Mass EPO’S
The only problem with the world are the Humans, great job fellas you give us all a bad name.
Idiots. The laws are there to protect the fish. Size and quota limits will keep our waters plentiful if you follow the rules and let the fish grow to maturity and they are able to spawn. This will ensure that our grandchildren can enjoy the sport of fishing as we do now. They should take their boat, equipment, and never let them fish again along with steep fines. GREAT JOB guys!!!!
David, the laws are here to protect the business who lobbies the politicians which allow said lobbies to write the laws, and then have them presented by the aforementioned politicians.
This summer I was attempting to catch fluke by drifting near structure. This is something that I have done for many years and have usually caught at least a few nice fish. While I was fishing, i saw flags along the wreck, which were for the fish pots lined along same. About an hour into fishing, with no success, a large netter began trawling around the outer perimeter of the wreck, which is a large 365 ft. sunken ship. So here I am attempting to catch a few fluke with my 10 year old, and friends aboard,( so that they can enjoy fishing), catching nothing while attempting to avoid fish pots, and watching a commercial vessel net the edges of the wreck. They are raping the oceans, and blaming recreational fishermen. I suggest to anyone who lives near a commercial fishing boat to go and watch them unload their catch. You will be at the least amazed, and at worst, sickened. I have done this by offering to buy fish direct when they come in…The end of Sept brought the end to fluke season here, yet every business is still selling it. If the season closes on us then businesses should stop selling it at the same time.
By the way Dan
If you understood the regulations for fluke. They are legal year round as long as you take them at the legal limit
If you understood the the laws for commercial fishermen you wouldn’t have posted what you did
Cheryl, no recreational angler was/is permitted to keep a fluke in NJ after Sept 24th.
If a 10lb fluke is caught, or a 5lb, 2lb, 12 lb, fluke, none can be kept. So please do your research before proving that you are a clod plate.
The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council adopted recreational fishing regulations for the upcoming season during their meeting on March 3, 2016.
2016 NJ Fluke Regulations:
May 21 and end on Sept. 25 with a five-fish limit at 18 inches. The only exceptions will be in Delaware Bay with a four-fish limit at 17 inches and at Island Beach State Park, which allows two fish at 16 inches to be kept.
2016 NJ Black Sea Bass Regulations:
Black sea bass regulations include a three-part season
Open May 23 to June 19 with a bag limit of 10 fish at 12½ inches.
Open July 1 to Aug. 31 with two fish limit at 12½ inches.
Open Oct. 22 to Dec. 31 with a 15-fish bag limit at 13 inches.
Well said Dan… It’s not the honest recreational fisherman that’s forcing targeted species to the brink, it’s the commercial guys who haul nets that are grabbing everything the net surrounds to the surface. Once on board, most of the catch is too damage to survive being thrown over the side…
The laws need to be balanced enough to allow commercial boats to make a living while also allowing the recreational fisherman the opportunity to put some fish on the table at the end of the day.
Thank you Norm M. I wish that more would understand what is going on, and how greed works.
This is big business, and as an avid investor, I have sat on conference calls for several decades, and what I have learned is that nothing in their realm is happenstance. They are very calculating, so when they hire lobbyist, and target candidates, they understand what they are doing. They now have convinced the public that allocating tax payers dollars toward having marine police, game wardens and the coast guard so that they may board our boats impede our day and measure every little fish on board is more important then using said funds for catching murderers, rapist, and child molesters. They also realize that with the rising cost of boat ownership, and the aforementioned agitation there will be less competition for the fish. A recreational angler wants to catch food for his families table, and to ensure that there are more so that his children will also be able to do so. Commercial guys want to catch, and keep every fish possible, and become wealthy enough not to have to work. They are not there because they enjoy it, they are there for the money, and when anything becomes just about the money, it becomes problematic.
This is a story that doesnt have a good ending other than the EP nabbing them…. agree that fines steeper and seize boat,equipment…. its not like they didnt know wtf they were doing.
I was actually asked yesterday for my Saltwater license , yesterday while fishing in RI….. first time ever in many years of fishing and it felt worthwhile to be able to produce it, there are laws and regulations and i was abiding by them … wish there were more visibility of the EP and wish more people would use common sense , the world is not meant for raping
What a dirt bag! Buy fish at market. Call it a day.
Although this is disgraceful, it pales in comparison to what the commercial bi-cacthes are doing to rape our nature oceans. No licensee should be required to fish in an ocean that can not be stocked. That is a government graft, and who lobbies the politicians? The politicians who have received donations from the lobbyist are beholden to the commercial fishing lobby, even before they are sworn in. My brother worked for the DEA in Miami, back in the 80’s. Drug cartels would tip off the officials of a boat coming in with drugs. The boat would have 20 pounds of Cocaine on it, and would tie up the allocated man power. Everyone was happy and the news crews tied up officials even longer. The problem was that a few years later during interrogations they found out that the same cartel had other boats coming in with thousands of pounds, were coming in the same ports at the same time. The point is that, as egregious as this act is, we should not allow it to distract us from the real problem, which is greed, lobbyist, and currently having the best government that money can buy. Fluke season ended here a few weeks back, yet I can buy fluke in every seafood market, in every restaurant, and in every supper market. If it is in danger of over-fishing stop the retail sale, at the same time you prohibit individuals from feeding the same to their family. This is another calculated scam to channel the recreational fisherman to buy their fish from a business being supplied by commercial fishermen. SAD that greed takes precedent over the health of species, but that is GREED.
Brian, although the poacher is a dirt bag, the commercial fishing fleets want us all to buy their product. They buy lobbyist to ensure that we do so. No one is looking out for the average recreational anglers as greed in DC screws us, the species, and the planet, all in the name of excessive greed
Folks found carrying drugs, etc, lose their boats, cars, aircraft in addition to jail time. What’s wrong here?! This offense was WAY beyond an OOPS, sorry officer! How many times did thes individuals get away with this before they were caught? Just a curious joke ~ 109 Tog? Would take me a season to hook. What in the heck were they using for bait!?
I don’t consider these bastards fisherman. These are losers who thought they could get away with this. Yes, they were caught. But how many times they weren’t. (Who knows).Enforcement needs to be stepped up. Fines steeper, boat and gear seized and auctioned off. This is such an important ongoing issue nationally. A REAL fisherman has more gratification throwing shorts back in the water… The fish deserve to live and grow. These guys are a bunch of law braking assholes. I Got an idea: get me there names , and #. I’ll invite them over and bury there faces into my piranha tank. These fish had no chance either should you
We need the fish and wildlife org. to step up their game and hire more agents so criminal’s like these guy’s cannot get away from the law and this way we can help our fishing reg’s work so we can have a future for our children to enjoy the sport that we love so much!
We do not need more agents permitting the recreational angler to be harassed further, while the commercial boats continue to catch tons of fish daily. This is a 150lbs of tog. The bi-catch of stripped bass, caught on commercial bunker boats could swallow.
how about not allowing the individual to register a boat in ma for 5-10 years ? often time i take out family and friends who dont fish much and they catch an undersized fish and are exited untill i throw em back.Sucks but its whats right !
Thank you MASS EPO, people like this should be fined $1000 per fish …it is also the reason why some of our fish stocks are depleting. Not over fished.stolen fish
With such a large quantity involved it’s unbelievable that this was not a total disregard for all rules and regulations .I would like to see their right to fish be revoked permanently along with confiscation of all equipment. This not someone with one fish a half inch short.
Great job.
Worst part – this isn’t the first time this group of losers pulled this stunt. Bringing extra coolers and hiding places shows experience and intent. Hope his boat sinks with all aboard.
Thankfully, most recreational fisherman are honest people who abide by bag limits, or better yet, practice catch & release.
To all the good guys I say “thanks and tight lines”.
All good points here. I really agree with the need for much tougher penalties, including losing the right to fish. Imagine the impact that kind of penalty would have over time.
Really Sad that such bone heads just don’t get it !
Every time I read one of these stories, I’m completely disgusted. It’s good that OTW also post photos, which fully exhibits the disgust of undersized & over-limit catches. I wish the judges who have to listen to these crimes in their courtrooms would feel just as disgusted.
Of all the things our government spends, (and waste money on), I’m definitely for more $ for more enforcement officers in the field.
Slime bags. Be nice if we could feed them to the fish.
Mass should join the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact which is an agreement between most of the states and Canadian provinces where a poacher prosecuted in one state loses their ability to hunt fish and trap in all member states and provinces. Mass is one of very few states not in the compact. If prosecuted, these poachers may be able to continue their efforts in other states.
Kudos to the Environmental Police of MA for snagging these chumbags.
What would be a nice extra, is to get the names and booking shots of the captain and his henchmen posted on the OTW site.
They would have a hard time showing theiron mugs in any bait and tackle shop in N.E.
They SHOULD post up the pictures of the boat and ALL law-breakers involved. Put a face to these guys. Might as well shame them too! I’d love to give the guy a piece of my mind if I see/them at the ramp.
Hey gilly , i agree 100%, how bout a life time ban too?selfish , greedy losers
U wouldnt want to meet me cause I’d be ur worst nightmare ! Read “fukishima nuclear disaster” then report back to me. The govt is hiding the facts.
Just think how many of these morons out there don’t get caught and you can see why our fisheries are in decline. These guys should lose their right to fish for life but unfortunately our laws are too lax. I live on Long Island NY and the commercial guys started potting tog again last year in Long Island Sound. They virtually wiped out hugh areas of a once productive fishery. Not much different than poaching only its legal.
wouldn’t it be nice to have pics of their boat and of them posted so we can all see who these fine citizens are.
Paul, go down and watch a commercial boat offload their catch and take a picture of the tons of fish, and the Bi-catch, then compare it to the 100lbs of fish featured in those little buckets.
I’ve witnessed many immigrants who do not care about DEP rules. They keep everything they catch and litter the fishing area.
Rules require enforcement officers in the field, where is the ocean fishing license money going?
The boat of poachers where unquestionably poaching and should get the book thrown at them all.
Every once in a while honest people make a mistake, with all the rules out there it gets confusing.
SIMPLIFY THE RULES, INCREASE DEP FIELD OFFICERS AND HARSHER PENALTIES FOR POACHERS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUSLY POACHING.
KAHUNA, Maybe you and Trump could build a wall in the ocean.
Good job to the green men. Public shaming is a great deterrent i believe. Show the world who is stealing the resources we love so much..
Although this is disgraceful, it pales in comparison to what the commercial bi-cacthes are doing to rape our nature oceans. No licensee should be required to fish in an ocean that can not be stocked. That is a government graft, and who lobbies the politicians? The politicians who have received donations from the lobbyist are beholden to the commercial fishing lobby, even before they are sworn in. My brother worked for the DEA in Miami, back in the 80’s. Drug cartels would tip off the officials of a boat coming in with drugs. The boat would have 20 pounds of Cocaine on it, and would tie up the allocated man power. Everyone was happy and the news crews tied up officials even longer. The problem was that a few years later during interrogations they found out that the same cartel had other boats coming in with thousands of pounds, were coming in the same ports at the same time. The point is that, as egregious as this act is, we should not allow it to distract us from the real problem, which is greed, lobbyist, and currently having the best government that money can buy. Fluke season ended here a few weeks back, yet I can buy fluke in every seafood market, in every restaurant, and in every supper market. If it is in danger of over-fishing stop the retail sale, at the same time you prohibit individuals from feeding the same to their family. This is another calculated scam to channel the recreational fisherman to buy their fish from a business being supplied by commercial fishermen. SAD that greed takes precedent over the health of species, but that is GREED.
I wonder where these geniuses were planning to unload these fish – a restaurant or fish market? Perhaps the EP should monitor these places to ensure the catch they buy is legal – and yes, require they stop selling fish that are out of season.
How did your ancestors survive
as above this A@$hole should lose his license for ever!!!!!! Then, have his equipment confiscated to include his boat and truck. Then pay a fine for all the fish over the limit he had along with his cohorts the boat and truck should be sold and the money go to the state DEP to keep up the good work.
I have been fishing for almost all of my 69 years, and have never once, not ever, even been asked for my License. Glad to see they nabbed the Slimeballs.
Lock em up. Throw away the key.
The problem of poaching is an inherent undertaking that continues to rear its ugly head every once in the while during any fishing season. It makes no difference if it is striped bass, sea bass, toutog, fluke. Yes they are caught on occasion, fined and in most cases released to perform this dastardly deed all over again . Some have made it a cultural to poach and have refined it to a science , knowing the chances of being caught and being punished is very rare. Until and unless we can break the established cycle from the water to its final destination in some market place we will never stop this scourge to the aquatic resource we all claim we want to protect from such damage. Until the courts look at poaching as an crime against the environment and the law enforcement officers actually can have some clout to take the gear[all of it ] we are wasting our enforcement dollars doing cursory protection screenings looking for poachers. We need further proliferation of those who poach to see there names in the local papers , showing what they have done . If they get back the boat that it forever have a gps unit attached to track the boat and every time it comes into port an epo officer is waiting to check it out. This GPS unit would be paid for by the convicted poacher and ordered by the court system .
One announcement on a epo doing his or her job is great , but once again the damage to the environment has been done and it is only small potatoes to what is actually going on , More boarding’s on the water,More at the ramps where known poachers come back in and especially during the times frames that have no one watching for them as they unload their illegal catches on a daily basis every year. It is time to have 24 hour 7 day a week patrolling in those areas where known activity is going on by poachers. It is also time we shut down the markets that these fish are sold at whether it is a restaurant, or retail fish market and take away there permits to operate . Sandwich had one such market place , it was forced to close and it soon will be open once again to purchase contaminated poached shell fish once again . So much for keeping such permits from known felons.
One other comment is that every one poach as some have attempted to spout when they have been caught recently and it is this type of attitude that gives all of us a bad name that abhor poaching as a way of life among the fishing community. Those that get caught attempt to deflect what they have done, by illegally [poaching fish to sell and then attempt to say every one does it, so it is ok for them to justify what there lack of concern is for our aquatic resource as a whole/ Fine them all, remove completely all and every piece of gear , no matter what they used to poach with , sell it and hire more Environmental Police officers to better maintain the eco system that remains in danger as a result of poaching activity.
angler, if you would like to see environmental police officers protect our eco system then point them to the correct place, recreational fishermen do not destroy the eco system, that privilege is owned by those who can afford to buy the Washington DC political lobbyist, indirectly purchasing the politicians who will be sympathetic to their needs. Go to where a commercial trawler ports and watch them offload the catch. I have done so many times, in Atlantic City NJ, as well as in Cape May NJ.
This is big business, and as an avid investor, I have sat on conference calls for several decades, and what I have learned is that nothing in their realm is happenstance. They are very calculating, so when they hire lobbyist, and target candidates, they understand what they are doing. They now have convinced the public that allocating tax payers dollars toward having marine police, game wardens and the coast guard so that they may board our boats impede our day and measure every little fish on board is more important then using said funds for catching murderers, rapist, and child molesters. They also realize that with the rising cost of boat ownership, and the aforementioned agitation there will be less competition for the fish. A recreational angler wants to catch food for his families table, and to ensure that there are more so that his children will also be able to do so. Commercial guys want to catch, and keep every fish possible, and become wealthy enough not to have to work. They are not there because they enjoy it, they are there for the money, and when anything becomes just about the money, it becomes problematic.
they couldn’t find anything better to do then just throw the fish away. At least the poachers fish may have found the table and filled someones stomach. These folks have no imagination. They just want to wield their power
They work for the commercial fisheries corps harassing recreational anglers. 170 fish is about what the netters pick up in 20 minutes. They bring in tons a day…Smoke and mirrors, show a little bucket or two, instead of the tons being offloaded from the commercial vessels. Money talks!
Warren Losch,
You are 100% correct.. They must justify the tax payers paying them 100’s of thousands of dollars, and funding their boats, trucks, radar, sonar, etc… All pretty much to eliminate people from feeding their families.
Please sign me up to receive fishing updates and news of where fish are being caught in the South , North , and Central New Jersey . I was told about your site by a friend , and checked it out and was please at how informative it was. I am an angler and believe a bad day of fishing beats a good of work around the house!
Thanks Jimmy B.
Jimmy B,
I went ahead and signed you up fo the New Jersey/New York regional fishing forecast mailing list. You should be receiving a confirmation email shortly that you will have to click on to activate your account.
~Ed
A long time ago in another time I learned that this poaching business is not relegated to just one user group and to be clear both the recreational and commercial folks have plenty of ownership in this long time practice and no matter which user group is being caught they should all be charged for crimes against the environment. Equal laws for justice when poachers decide they are immune to the laws of the resource. I have spent many hours during my lifetime turning in poachers, only to see them not change there ways and this is the cultural behavior from those who care not makes no difference if for money or home use.
Angler,
Have you ever seen the technology employed by commercial fishing fleets? Stop minimizing the damage being done them. Do recreational anglers have spotter planes, helicopters, side by side trawlers? Please try and bring some intellect to the conversation. Commercial netters can completely destroy an entire school of tuna with their technology. You and every person that you have ever come in contact with could never duplicate the evisceration of species that these greedy animals have been responsible for. Name a species of fish which was placed in danger by recreational fishermen….What happened to Stripers when the commercial guys were fishing for them? They destroyed generations of fish, now they are back. What happen to Sturgeon in the Northeast when the commercial guys were fishing for them? They are still non apparent. Stop helping them to destroy the fish!
It’s a constant battle to keep people from treating the ocean as their own personal ATM machine.
Join CCA
Anyone know of a link to a picture of the boat? I boat out of Westport – would love to watch for this guy in the future.
Has anyone ever driven over the speed limit? Would a $10,000 fine and loosing your car be fair if you did?
Poaching HAS to be enforced strictly, in any way, or too many selfish people will join in- oceans are critical. Like level of endagerment