The following items were posted on the Massachusetts Environmental Police’s (MEP) official Facebook page. If you encounter any suspected fisheries or hunting violations in Massachusetts, please call the MEP 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at 800-632-8075.
May 19, 2020
On the evening of Monday, May 18, 2020, Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers conducted a plain-clothed enforcement patrol along the Boston waterfront. Officers encountered several individuals engaged in fishing, ultimately observing numerous striped bass fishing violations, to include: possession limit violations, minimum size violations, and illegal possession of river herring violations. In total, the Officers issued nearly $2,500 in fines and seized 15 illegally caught striped bass. The seized catch was properly stored overnight and will be donated to the Pine Street Inn, a homeless service shelter in Boston.
May 18, 2020
Massachusetts Environmental Police found an individual in Swansea with 250 pounds of live horseshoe crab in their vessel. Further investigation found that the individual did not possess a valid permit or letter of acknowledgement to catch horseshoe crabs. The individual was charged for commercially fishing without a permit and for numerous safety violations. All crabs were found to be alive and were safely returned to the waters of the Commonwealth.
May 13, 2020
On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, Fairhaven Police Department notified Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers that a possible ‘for hire’ trip had left a marina in Fairhaven with clients from Connecticut aboard. Environmental Police Officers observed the vessel return to a dock in Fairhaven at approximately 12:00 p.m. A subsequent inspection of the vessel and catch found that the Captain did not possess a valid Massachusetts DMF Charter Permit and the permit he did offer was for a different vessel. The Captain faces numerous fishing violations and will appear in court at a later date. The 250-pound catch of scup was seized and donated to the New Bedford Salvation Army.
