New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) have been busy in recent weeks, conducting fishing compliance checks across the state that resulted in numerous tickets for violations ranging from exceeding possession limits to fishing out of season.
In Manhattan, ECO Baldwin responded to a complaint about an angler fishing beneath the 59th Street Bridge along the East River. Upon investigation, the officer discovered 30 oyster toadfish, nearly all of which were undersized, and seven fishing lines in use. The angler received multiple tickets for exceeding the three-fish daily limit, possessing undersized fish and using too many lines.
Similar violations were uncovered in the Bronx and Westchester County. On September 18, ECOs Cobb and Toomey discovered an angler in Pelham Bay Park possessing 38 snapper bluefish, exceeding the five-fish daily limit by 33 fish. Just two days later, ECOs in Mamaroneck found another angler with 20 snappers, resulting in tickets for exceeding the possession limit, fishing without a marine registry and using an unlawful fishing method.
On October 10, a DEC marine patrol near Erie Basin Pier in Brooklyn encountered two individuals possessing a total of 40 blackfish, despite the season not opening until October 15. Both individuals were ticketed for taking fish out of season.
Enforcement efforts also extended upstate, where ECOs utilized drones equipped with night-imaging technology to monitor illegal after-hours salmon fishing along the Salmon River in Oswego County. The October 3 patrol resulted in nine tickets issued to six anglers.
DEC reminds anglers to familiarize themselves with current fishing regulations, including seasonal closures, size restrictions and possession limits, before heading out on the water.
