Black Sea Bass
ECOs Perkins and DeRose worked a long day to prevent the unlawful taking of black sea bass on the South Shore of Suffolk County. Black sea bass have a minimum size limit of 15 inches and a maximum daily possession limit of seven fish from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. After receiving a complaint from a local fisherman that anglers were taking undersized black sea bass on the rocks at Democrat Point, ECO Perkins responded to the area and located the individuals. Upon inspection, Officer Perkins discovered two undersized black sea bass in a cooler. He issued a ticket for possession of undersized fish.
As the day progressed, ECOs Perkins and DeRose patrolled Captree State Park to perform recreational saltwater fishing compliance checks on the main pier. ECO DeRose performed a compliance check on a fisherman with an out-of-season tautog, while ECO Perkins located a fisherman further down the dock with five undersized black sea bass, three of which were hidden on a stringer in the water. The Officers issued tickets to both anglers for their violations. The ECOs also patrolled Ocean Parkway, conducting compliance checks on anglers located on the bay side at Oak Beach. The ECOs encountered two fishermen in possession of undersized black sea bass measuring nine inches each. Both anglers received tickets for their violations.
It was a similar scene at Robert Moses State Park where both officers spotted three fishermen on the rocks. ECO DeRose watched the pair and observed one angler catch an undersized black sea bass and quickly place it in a plastic bag he then stuffed in the rocks approximately 15 feet away. Upon inspection, the Officers located another plastic bag nearby. Both bags contained 28 undersized black sea bass, all less than seven inches. Two of the three fishermen admitted to possessing the black sea bass. All three fishermen were ticketed for possession of undersized black sea bass, over limit, and failure to carry a marine registry. Twelve tickets were issued and a total of 37 undersized black sea bass and one tautog seized.
Night Clamming
On October 8, ECO Grady received a call from Town of Brookhaven Public Safety Officers who intercepted two male subjects with shellfish near Mount Sinai Harbor. The subjects snuck out of the woods with buckets at about 8:30 p.m., and were waiting to be picked up when spotted by the Officers. As ECO Grady approached, one of the subjects fled. She found clam rakes and several buckets of hard clams in a wooded area near the harbor, which is seasonably uncertified for shellfish because the shellfish are unsafe for human consumption. It is also unlawful to take shellfish at night, after sunset. The subject in custody received tickets for taking shellfish from an uncertified area, possessing a commercial quantity of shellfish at night, and not having a shellfish digger permit. All charges are misdemeanors pending in Suffolk County First District Court.
Violations Continue Around Fire Island Inlet
ECOs Dickson and Perkins continue to find anglers keeping tautog before the season and black sea bass of less than legal size. On Oct. 8, while patrolling Captree and Robert Moses State Parks, the Officers issued tickets to multiple fishermen for taking out-of-season tautog, undersized and over-limit sea bass, and winter flounder out of season. On the night of Oct. 9, ECOs Perkins and Anderson found people illegally taking fish with a net in the dark at Jones Beach State Park. They ticketed two separate groups of four anglers for taking a total of 89 undersized sea bass, which put them more than 30 fish over the limit. The second group had an undersized striped bass, as well.
