Statewide Fishing Compliance Checks Kings / Queens / Suffolk / Nassau / Orange / Sullivan Counties - The Fisherman

Statewide Fishing Compliance Checks Kings / Queens / Suffolk / Nassau / Orange / Sullivan Counties

From bunker busts to nighttime netters, ECOs statewide tackled a variety of cases over the past several weeks as they conducted fishing compliance checks on anglers:

On Aug. 15, ECOs Broughton and Veloski from DEC’s Marine Enforcement Unit joined ECOs Farner, Swart, and sector Officers from Staten Island and Queens for a nighttime boat patrol in Jamaica Bay focused on enforcing recreational saltwater regulations and navigation law safety checks. Officers checked several vessels and issued 14 tickets for offenses including possession of undersized black sea bass, porgy, and summer flounder, failure to possess a Marine Fishing Registry, and improper use of navigation lights. All defendants are scheduled to appear in Kings and Queens County Criminal Courts as appropriate.

During the overnight hours from Aug. 17 to 18, ECOs Pabes and Smith patrolled Long Island’s south shore for fishing activity at locations known for nighttime violations. The Officers began the night conducting surveillance at a busy bridge and noticed a group of subjects taking more than the limit of bluefish. The ECOs observed two individuals with eight bluefish, more than the maximum limit of three per person. Additionally, neither subject possessed a marine fishing registration as required in New York State. ECOs ticketed the men for catching fish over the limit and fishing without a marine registration. The Officers ended the night at another bridge, where ECO Pabes observed dim lights flashing on and off in the Great South Bay. The Officers approached the area and observed a group of men netting fish. The subjects possessed undersized blue claw crabs and summer flounder (fluke). Blue claw crabs must be 4.5 inches, and fluke must be 19.5 inches. Officers issued tickets for possession of undersized species and gave various warnings for fishing without a marine registration and taking fish by means other than angling.

On Aug. 29, ECO Hilton responded to reports of subjects taking thousands of fish by net at the Jones Beach Field 10 fishing piers in Nassau County. ECO Smith responded to provide backup given the number of fish reportedly being taken. The Officers observed two subjects in the parking lot with fish, another actively netting on a pier, and two more attempting to hide near a bait shop. The group possessed nearly 100 snapper (young bluefish) and approximately 1,000 peanut bunker (young menhaden). There are no size limits for bluefish or bunker, but there are daily harvest limits. The daily limit for bluefish in New York State is three per person and the daily limit for bunker is 100 per person. ECOs issued tickets for possession of over-the-limit species and educated them on the importance of conservation.

On Sept. 1, ECO Parker worked a joint enforcement detail with the National Park Service (NPS) on the Delaware River in Orange and Sullivan counties. At the end of the patrol, while Officers were loading the patrol boat onto its trailer, they received a call for assistance from NPS Rangers who stopped a group of 10 individuals with undersized fish, spear guns, and diving equipment in the town of Lumberland, Sullivan County. The Officers determined after a brief interview that several individuals within the group used spear guns to unlawfully take fish. Additionally, only two individuals had freshwater fishing licenses as required in New York. Officers seized 97 illegally taken fish and issued a total of 12 tickets for offenses including taking undersized fish, illegal possession of fish, taking fish by means other than angling, fishing without a freshwater fishing license, and depositing refuse along a highway. The case is pending further enforcement upon review of electronic evidence retrieved from the location. The Officers issued 18 total tickets for the daylong detail.

On Sept. 7, ECO Day observed a small vessel in the water off Hagerman Landing Beach in Rocky Point, Suffolk County, about an hour before sunrise without its navigation lights turned on. Officer Day observed the three anglers on board fishing for several hours, appearing to catch many porgy and black sea bass. He and Brookhaven Harbormaster Siele conducted a compliance check on the vessel when it returned to shore and discovered the subjects in possession of 127 porgy and nine black sea bass. Thirty-seven porgy were over the possession limit and 33 were less than the legal size required in New York when fishing from a vessel. All nine black sea bass were under the legal size limit. ECO Day issued three tickets to each angler for the fishing violations and Harbormaster Siele issued tickets to one subject for using an unregistered trailer and not having a visual signaling device or sound producing device aboard a vessel. The seized fish were donated to Sweetbriar Nature Center to feed raptors in their care.

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