During April and May, DEC Environmental Conservation Officers concentrated their efforts along the Hudson River and its tributaries on a detail dubbed “Operation River Run” in an effort to protect the spring migrations of numerous fish species in the Hudson River watershed, including walleye, striped bass, shad, herring and young eels.
“This was a tremendously successful operation,” said Goertz. “Our uniformed and plain clothed officers worked all hours of the day and night in often remote locations to protect these vulnerable fish species during their spawning cycles.”
Officers checked more than 400 anglers during the operation resulting in the ticketing of more than 60 individuals and written warnings issued to another 20 anglers. Most violations were for fishing without a freshwater license or marine license, which is required to catch marine species in the Hudson River. Officers also issued tickets for striped bass and herring over the legal limit.
The illegal taking of young eels, also called glass eels or elvers, has increased substantially in the past few years due to the large demand for the fish in the lucrative Asian market.
Most illegal fishing takes place late at night and often goes unreported due to the remote locations where much of the illegal activity occurs. DEC police utilized saturation patrols and concentrated staff in targeted problem areas using unmarked and marked vehicles and boats.
This an outstanding performance by our authorities some people need to understand what the law is and when it’s broken! There’s consequences to deal with. Thank you for this article. Tight lines.
I think that,s great,,,,I would like to see the same kind of effort on the cape cod cannal,,,,especially on the jetty near scussett beach.ther is alot of under size fish being taken.
Tip of the cap to the hard working personnel protecting our fishery , If you would like to double your violations concentrate the shoreline area from Piermont to Bear Mt. bridge , ALL YEAR LONG violators take Striped Bass , only to return due to poor / weak penalties . good article Thanks On The Water
It is about time the rules are enforced upon the poachers. I surf fish south shore of LI at night, the inlet at Jones beach, coast guard station would be record violations. As an individual you cant say anything to these people. Keep up the good work trying to preserve the fishery. Hopefully this years bass season will be a good one. Practice catch and release.
Like the previous comment from Piermont to Bear Mountain