On Aug. 3, while patrolling Jones Beach State Park on his Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV), ECO Pabes encountered an angler with an undersized fluke hidden among supplies. Officer Pabes issued the angler a ticket for undersized fluke before continuing his patrol. Later that day, the ECO observed the same angler on the beach with an injury to his foot. The angler stated he was stung in the foot by a stingray, leaving him in excruciating pain. ECO Pabes saw the barb lodged in the fisherman’s foot and helped him to the UTV for transport to the Jones Beach West End parking lot where EMTs waited. The angler is expected to make a speedy recovery. The fluke was donated to a wildlife rehabilitator to serve as food for recovering animals.
