Charter Capt. Found Guilty of Illegal Commercial Fishing On LI
A Connecticut charter captain was found guilty of illegal commercial fishing off Long Island, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. Michael Tenedine, 58, of East Haven, was found guilty after a trial of operating a charter vessel without a permit; illegal possession of black sea bass for poaching; and possessing Black sea bass, a protected species due to overfishing, Tierney said. The trial conviction comes as Tierney ramps up his “Everblue Initiative,” a collaboration with state and local law enforcement to protect the more than 60 percent of Suffolk County square mileage comprised of water. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:03
This is a biased and one-sided story that is extremely exaggerated and misleading to tarnish the reputation of a good Captain and reputable business.
This “bust” took place about a hundred yards (or less) from the Connecticut/NY line. Maybe even as little as 50’. The Connecticut Sea Bass season was open, NY was closed.
This did NOT take place near Mattituck as the article states. This was in fact 9.1 miles from Mattituck, at the CT border.
Capt. Mike was not “poaching” in the manner portrayed. He was catching Black Sea Bass for his 6 charter customers during the peak of the Connecticut Sea Bass season with tons of boats around him at the time. There are THOUSANDS of sea bass in that area that time of year due to the large piece of bottom structure that straddles the border. No one really knows where the line is. We all know “about” where it is. There are no buoys in the area serving as state boundaries and there are no points of land to take ranges off of. The line is not on any of my 3 Raymarine units. I use a weather app. on my phone when I’m in the area. Is it accurate?? I have no idea.
This is an extremely popular fishing area that also holds fluke and porgies that Connecticut anglers have been fishing for years. There is often over a hundred boats on a Saturday seeing it is only a 10–15-minute boat ride from many ports in Connecticut.
Capt. Mike is known as a strict rule follower, and I was surprised to even watch this event unfold in front of my eyes. The D.E.C. should have never even have written him a ticket and this unquestionably should have been thrown out of court. A verbal warning was all that was deserved at best. The officer should be ashamed of himself and embarrassed. He is a young twenty-something overzealous officer trying to make a name for himself to say the least. He is best suited working for The Trump administration at the Southern border. Not staking out Connecticut boats fishing feet over an invisible line with a subjective location.
Also, Black Sea Bass are NOT overfished and are in fact at 2.19 times the biomass target according the ASMFC’s own website. The only reason the N.Y. season was closed is due to the environmental activists currently macerating as fisheries managers. Black sea bass are everywhere and destroying the ecosystem.
ZERO research was done when writing this article and whomever signed off on it should be sued.
Thank you, Captain, for rebuttal of the article with your eyewitness account, defending this fisherman. Another victim of fake media and overzealous law enforcement.