ECOs in New York City and Long Island conducted fishing compliance checks during recent weeks that resulted in enforcement action. Here is a rundown of some of the cases:
On August 18, ECO Baldwin observed an angler at Randall’s Island Park in New York County catch a tautog out of season, place it inside a red mesh bag, and hide it in rocks on the nearby shore. The subject, who received a ticket from Officer Baldwin last year for a separate fishing-related offense, attempted to leave the area on a bicycle when ECO Baldwin approached. Officer Baldwin ordered the subject to stop and the individual complied and quickly retrieved the hidden tautog. Officer Baldwin ticketed the subject for taking fish out of season. Tautog season does not begin until October 15.
On September 13, ECO Trainee Henry, a recent graduate of the 25th Basic School for Environmental Conservation Police Officers at the DEC training facility in Pulaski, and ECO Nolan conducted an early morning patrol of the waters of Jamaica Bay in Queens County for people illegally harvesting shellfish. The Officers observed two individuals in possession of 544 hard clams harvested from the bay. ECOs ticketed both subjects for possessing illegal shellfish. Taking shellfish from uncertified waters, which includes Jamaica Bay, is prohibited due to sanitary concerns.
On the night of September 19, ECOs Pabes and Watson issued a total of 14 tickets to anglers in two separate cases for fishing-related offenses. In the first case, the Officers responded to a complaint regarding the netting of juvenile striped bass in Woodmere. The ECOs arrived at the location and observed an individual loading a bucket of 14 undersized striped bass and one bluefish into the back of a van. That subject received tickets for fishing without a marine registry, taking fish by commercial means without a food fish license, taking fish by prohibited means with a cast net, and taking undersized and over the daily limit of striped bass. Shortly after handling that case, and a short distance away, ECOs Pabes and Watson observed two separate anglers attempting to flee the area after noticing the Officers. Both individuals were stopped and the ECOs located a bucket hidden in nearby reeds with additional striped bass that were undersized and over the daily limit. Both subjects were also issued tickets for fishing without a marine registry, taking regulated fish by commercial means without a food fish license, and taking fish by prohibited means with a cast net. All tickets are returnable to Nassau County First District Court. All fish were seized and donated to a local wildlife rehabilitator.
