With an estimated 1,600 miles of Long Island shoreline to monitor, NYDEC police have a challenging job trying to protect our valuable marine resources. Despite being what many people consider staffing shortages and the need for ECOs to respond to numerous other non-marine related infractions, they do a remarkable job in maintaining a presence and curtailing illegal fishing activities. Abuses of our marine fishing regulations are rampant and while these men and women can not be everywhere all of the time, they are making their presence felt and making people think twice about things like keeping short fish or keeping over their limit. The following is just a sampling of some of the work being done by these dedicated individuals.
ECOs Rob Howe and Ian Helmer followed up on complaints from fishermen that multiple individuals were taking over the limit and undersize striped bass off of the jetty at Silver Point County Park in Atlantic Beach. Under the cover of darkness and using an unmarked vehicle, the officers patiently waited in the parking lot for the fishermen to return to their cars. Officer Helmer at times posed as a fishermen to get a closer look at some of the fishermen on the jetty. After the fishermen returned to the parking lot, the officers seized ten striped bass and issued multiple tickets for over the limit and undersized striped bass.
ECO Kevin Holzle received a call that a male fisherman was keeping short blackfish and placing them in a cooler in a dark colored SUV at the rock jetty at Democrat Point. He arrived at the entrance to Robert Moses beach access and decided it would be quicker to walk to the jetty. As he passed a female in a jeep, she became aware of his presence and immediately made a phone call to the fisherman on the jetty. The man stood up, looked at the officer and made a mad dash for his vehicle. The verbal command of “Police don’t dump” was given and a race was on to the vehicle. Officer Holzle, having to close a large gap in distance, made it to the back of the vehicle a few seconds after the subject. The man was found to be in possession of a 15” blackfish. The fish was seized and then released back into waters. The fisherman was issued a ticket for possessing the undersize species. Coincidently, a blackfish was observed six feet directly behind the vehicle, just on the edge of the water still kicking. The man denied that he had thrown the fish back or that it was his. After the fish was measured at a legal 16”, it was given to a very happy couple on the jetty who had been fishing all day without a keeper.
ECOs Kevin Holzle and Jeff Hull were on a late night patrol at Captree State Park. Officer Hull had noticed a large amount of hickory shad being caught the day before, and under the cover of darkness, someone very well may decide to keep a few extra over the limit of five. While walking out on the pier, the officers noticed a man abruptly walk towards the end of the pier. As they walked past the initial spot the fisherman had just vacated, they observed a bucket with hickory shad fillets and a pile of shad on the dock. At first, the man denied all responsibility of the fish, but with some verbal judo, Officer Hull got the man to admit he did not know the limit and was scared, even to the point of throwing away his expensive fillet knifes. The officers gave the man his limit of shad fillets along with a summons and released all 39 others back into the water.
A Chinatown market detail in Queens and Brooklyn was coordinated by Lts. Aaron Gordon and Liza Bobseine. ECOs Kim Iovino, Paul Pasciak, Jason Hilliard, Wes Leubner, and John Gates, with help from Region 1 ECOs Chris DeRose, Jordan Doroski, Sean Reilly, and Tom Hansen. Numerous violations were documented including seven wayward businesses that were issued notices of violations and summonses for undersized lobsters, untagged shellfish, and undersized tautog (blackfish). A total of 23 businesses were inspected.
