Press Release from Rhode Island DEM:
NUMEROUS VIOLATIONS OF STATE AND FEDERAL MARINE FISHERIES LAWS FOUND AS A RESULT OF DEM INVESTIGATION INTO ILLEGAL STRIPED BASS FISHING ACTIVITY
PROVIDENCE – Over the past two months environmental police officers from the Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Law Enforcement conducted a multi-day operation targeting illegal striped bass fishing activity. The effort uncovered numerous violations of state and federal marine fisheries laws. “I am extremely proud of the dedicated men and women who serve in DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement and their collaborative efforts with our federal partners to protect Rhode Island’s marine resources,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “DEM is working hard to ensure the health and future of the striped bass population, and it is essential that we go after illegal activity to protect this valuable natural resource.”
On August 12, 2015, DEM environmental police officers and agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE) apprehended Raymond Jobin, age 72 of Charlestown for possession of striped bass during Rhode Island’s closed season and attempting to sell these striped bass in Massachusetts. Jobin faces potential administrative charges in Rhode Island and has been cited for violation of the federal Lacey Act by NOAA OLE. On September 7, 2015, two commercial fishermen were arrested for exceeding the daily limit of striped bass. David M. Fewster, age 48 of East Providence and John E. Linton, age 65 of Narragansett both face administrative penalties by DEM.
Additionally, seven other fishermen were identified by DEM environmental police for fishing for striped bass in the federal waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends from three to 2oo miles off-shore. DEM and NOAA OLE are working closely together on this ongoing investigation. Striped bass are illegal to take in federal waters. A total of 42 striped bass were seized during this operation.
Atlantic striped bass are a premier gamefish, as well as an important commercial species in Rhode Island and Atlantic coastal waters. The most recent benchmark stock assessment, conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), found that, since 2006, the spawning stock biomass (SSB) of striped bass along the Atlantic coast has been steadily declining. As of 2012, SSB had fallen below the management target and was approaching the overfished threshold. In response, the ASMFC took action, requiring all coastal states to implement management programs beginning in 2015 in an effort to reduce fishing mortality to the management target.
This past March, in an effort to reverse the decline and restore the striped bass fishery to a more robust and sustainable status, DEM filed new regulations establishing a limit of one striped bass per person per day for the Rhode Island recreational striped bass fishery. Rhode Island’s commercial striped bass fishery, which opens and closes based on harvest quotas, saw a quota reduction in 2015. According to DEM Director Coit, the action was taken “to protect the health of the resource and the long-term interests of all fishermen, including those in the for-hire industry, who rely upon striped bass for recreation, food, and employment.”
Director Coit said that Rhode Island environmental police will continue their efforts to combat illegal fishing activity in both state and federal waters.
Great any enforcement to improve the fishery is good.
I’m in Mass and will also fish NH salt but would like to see some license checking.
Since salt license have been required I have not been checked once, I surf cast north of Boston up to NH, surf cast the vineyard 1 to twice a year and fish out of my boat at least twice a week.
I do checked in fresh water, twice this year onec well trolling early spring in winne
And another bass fishing in Maine.
It’s my belief that someone willing to fish with out a license is also willing to take short fish or more than the limit.
To all EPO’s. Nail each and everyone one of the scumbags young and old. Fine the hell out of them and take everything of theirs you can. No warnings needed. They know what their doing. Stick it to them hard. Thanks for what you do
Some people don’t realize it’s illegal .pass 3 miles to fish for striper I think they should be written warnings at least so you’re on file and then from there you would get a big fine I’m from Rhode Island and if you fish at Block Island on the drive back to Rhode Island technically legal so definitely something’s hopefully will get fixed about that set a f****** people
So 3 people were named as being arrested. OK, great. However, “seven other fishermen were identified”. If they were identified and were doing illegal things, why were they arrested and named? Also, the 7 other people fishing past the 3-mile line had 42 fish. Does that mean they were also commercial guys or were they charter/rec guys who were keeping 6 fish a piece? This press release was seriously lacking. Also, while it’s essential to enforce the law, this should indicate a serious problem. If they caught 10 people on 2 days of enforcement, how many did they miss? How many others were tipped off and dumped their catch?
I agree, where are the names of the others ? I am hearing reports that a few of them where fishing for the Striper Cup and their names where taken off the leader boards. These anglers or would you say poachers are some of the last years winners also that have fished the EEZ and have won prizes. Time to re-evaluate the Striper Cup and start having a Team Captains meeting months before the cup. I would also say, any angler who is caught cheating on a team, will have the entire team penalized.
On another note, How many boats made it back to Montauk or CT without being caught. This bust is just a fraction of the illegal activity going on in the EEZ…….
Is on the water going to take ray jobin’s fish of the year award away from him and or will he be prevented from participation in this years contest? Curious what your policy is now that he has been charged with game violations?
Why not just make the striper cup catch and release only?
Really Steve– OTW is already caving to the conservationist … It’s a fishing contest – keep it as one.. Only one fish a week is a joke compared to legal state limits of one per day.. Remember this- NOBODY will remember who released four football fields of fish but everybody remembers what team won and who caught the biggest fish– that’s what it’s about…. I do believe OTW has to make an adjustment to their guidelines and rules for next year’s tournament or they will be losing many anglers this years format was a bust
Your kidding me .poaching rampid along all eastern coastal zones.I see draggers at nite raping areas of summer flounder.By the way they keep nearly everthing .Even sell a few for anglers entering smaller fluke contests with no polygraph exams needed.Crack down on commercial guys.they are doing 90 per cent of damage not small boaters.
Regarding Richie Reds post. Draggers operate with a daily limit or within the weekly aggregate program. They do not keep “nearly everything”, they keep what they are legally entitled to keep. Commercial fishermen are entitled to make a living. They maintain a boat and pay for their license yearly. Get your facts straight first.
@ Richie red
” .I see draggers at nite raping areas of summer flounder.”
Really Richie?
Do you know most draggers now have an observer on board ( and pay for them out of their own pocket)? When is all this raping going on?
When I steam out of port I see, on an average day, a 10 to 1 ratio of recreationals and charters to commercial fishermen. And if there is any enforcement around who gets boarded??
…Yup you got it – the guy that pays for a license and fishes to support his family. It’s about time that the Recs and Charters got boarded and checked… I’ll bet you’ll find ALOT of people keeping undersized, out-of-season and over the catch limit .
Us commercial guys get boarded every day- we can’t cheat – time for you “recreational fishermen” ( who sell their catch) to get boarded, fined and in the news.
Jon
If you don’t think that there are some commercial striper fishermen that fish illegally then you are very naive.
I use to fish commercially for stripers 20 years ago, and saw it happen all the time. From guys fishing with drop lines, to guys selling directly to restaurants, to obviously not reporting their whole catch.
It’s really easy to blame the commercial guys because they tend to make the most instantaneous impact in an area. One day, the area is teeming with fish. The next day, it seems the area is stripped bare. This is partly because a large number of fish are taken from an area and partly due to the disturbance of sediments and bait. However, every estimated and measured number for pretty much every inshore and near-shore fishery will show that recreational fishermen take far, far more fish than commercial fishermen. In most cases it’s a 5 to 1 ratio. Commercial fishermen certainly have more bycatch, but not nearly enough to elevate them to the numbers of fish caught by recreational fishermen. As for illegal activity, there are probably a comparable number, percentage-wise, in both groups. So, if there is a 5:1 ratio of fish caught by recs., it would be the same 5:1 ratio of illegal activities going on. So, yeah, cracking down on illegal activities on both sides makes lots of sense. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Aside from Fort Adams in Newport, and the rare sighting in Galilee or Beavertail or Conimicuit Light, the enforcement officers are nowhere to be found in Rhode Island. And when they are seen, they only do spot checks of buckets and maybe the very rare license check. In 40 years of fishing, I’ve only had my license checked once and one glance in my bucket with a casual , “What are you catching?” However, maybe I just look trustworthy. I never keep too many or too small fish. I even throw back fish which could be “squeezed” that extra 1/4″ to make them legal.
Bill
I agree with most of what you have to say, although I’m not sure where you get your 5:1 numbers.
I have fished the North Shore of Massachusetts for almost 60 years, and have seen my share of illegal activity…and I would agree that recreation fishermen take far more Stripers than commercial fishermen, that is in sheer numbers.
But think about it for a minute. The great majority of those Bass caught by the rec guys are in the 16 to 30″ range. To me the bigger problem is the commercial guys who catch hundreds of 40″ cows that are never reported. Back door deals with restaurants happened all the time back in the early to mid 90’s when I commercially fished for Stripers, and I’m sure that is still happens today.
Most commercial Striper fishermen are honest hard working guys, but there are some rotten apples out there.
Ray Jobin was a Supervisor for DEM FISH& WILDLIFE..IRONIC ISN’T IT!! NOT FIRST TIME BEING ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL HUNTING AND FISHING ..BUT STATE OF RI HIRED HIM ANYWAY!! SNEAKY AND OBUSIVE OF HIS AUTHORITY WHILE AT FISH&WILDLIFE!!