Tag Archives: Maryland Natural Resources Police
Crab grab nets federal conviction
A Tangier man pleaded guilty today to overharvesting Chesapeake Blue Crabs in Virginia waters and selling them in Maryland in violation of the Lacey Act. According to court documents, between March 20, 2023, to April 20, 2023, James Warren Eskridge, 45, exceeded the maximum harvest and sale of blue crabs to a seafood buyer on 16 occasions. Chesapeake Blue Crabs are the most valuable fishery in the Chesapeake Bay and, as such, those fishing blue crabs are subject to strict limits by law. At the time of Eskridge’s violations, Virginia permitted licensed commercial crabbers to harvest up to 27 bushels of blue crab per day, regardless of the number of licenses crabbers present on a single vessel. Eskridge operated the fishing vessel Rebecca Jean II with two mates out of Tangier Island, Virginia. On April 11, 2023, law enforcement observed Eskridge and his mates offload 60 bushels – more than double the Virginia limit – in Crisfield, Maryland. On April 11, 2023, Eskridge and his mates returned to Crisfield and offloaded 56 bushels. On April 13, 2023, they returned again and offloaded 58 bushels more. more, >>click to read<< 16:36
‘OC Shark Hunter’ arrested for unauthorized shark fishing off Assateague
A Wicomico County man who went by “OCSharkHunter” on social media was charged Sunday with guiding fishing trips without a license, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police. Nicholas Ager, 43, of Willards was arrested and charged after a two-month investigation of complaints about offers of paid shark fishing excursions on Assateague Island, Natural Resources Police said in a release. >click to read<16:08
Two St. Mary’s watermen, notary charged in theft of rockfish permit probe
Two St. Mary’s watermen and a woman working as a notary were charged Friday through summonses with criminal offenses in court papers alleging they took part in the fraudulent transfer of fishing permits that had been issued to a hospitalized quadriplegic. Robert M. Lumpkins, a 62-year-old Piney Point resident, earned about $10,000 during the 2015-2016 season by obtaining the striped bass allocation permit that originally belonged David Odonnell McKenney, who was admitted to a hospital early last September and died two months later, according to the charging papers filed this week by Maryland Natural Resources Police. Lumpkins and 28-year-old Ryan Marshall Edwards, also of Piney Point, were charged by a court commissioner with perjury, making a false entry to a public record and the theft of McKenney’s permits. Charges of counterfeiting a public seal and misconduct in office were filed against Sharon Lea Hammett, 63, of Leonardtown. Read the rest here 10:04
Stealing from Fishermen – Two NRP busts lead to fishery charges
According to NRP, an Elkridge man was criminally charged on Monday, Nov. 2, with eight counts of poaching after he was caught stealing crabs from watermen’s fishing gear and other natural resources violations. Raymond David Bosley, 45, of Elkridge, was stopped by officers on routine patrol on the Chesapeake Bay on Oct. 12. A check of his recreational vessel turned up numerous crabs, but no crabbing gear. Acting on a tip, officers went to a location in the 600-block of Dover Road in Easton and observed large coolers and several people nearby. The coolers contained 58 striped bass,,, Read the rest here 10:48
Bagged on face book – Two Pasadena Men Jailed for Stealing Crabs from Watermen
A Facebook post by a poacher helped authorities win a conviction against two Pasadena men caught stealing $6,400 worth of crabs from the crab pots of commercial watermen. The men were sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail by an Anne Arundel District Court judge. Maryland Natural Resources Police say in a release that John Allen Schuman, 37, of Pasadena, was found guilty of six charges stemming from his arrest Sept. 15, 2014, off Bodkin Point at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Leslie Eugene Jenne III, 31, of Pasadena, was found guilty of two charges Read the rest here 11:38
Two Crisfield Watermen charged with oyster violations
Using the Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network system of cameras and radar, two officers monitored Paul Franklin Tyler III, 29, and Jeffrey Alan Cuff Jr., 31, at 10 a.m. as they dredged for wild oysters in the buffer zone surrounding the Somerset Oyster Sanctuary near Tangier Sound, police said. Read the rest here 15:57
Four Eastern Shore watermen Charged with Poaching over the Holidays – Cheers!
Saturation patrols, surveillance and tips from the public led to oyster poaching charges being filed by Maryland Natural Resources Police officers against four Eastern Shore watermen over the holiday period. Read the rest here 19:16
Maryland Natural Resources Police Crow When They Bust, Clam Up When They Lose, decline to comment on the court’s decision.
Maryland court ends prosecution against Cowart Seafood driver in undersized oyster case. On Jan. 15 of this year, (click here) 17 Maryland Natural Resources Police officers in Easton, Md. pulled over a tractor-trailer owned by Lottsburg seafood dealer Cowart Seafood Corp. and arrested driver Rhoderick Newman of Tappahannock for multiple counts of possession of undersized oysters and one count of attempting to transport undersized oysters to Virginia. Read the rest here 20:29
Maryland Natural Resources Police Use New Technology to Pursue Oyster Thieves
“It allows us to see things we’re not normally privy to,” said Lt. Scott Richardson, the agency’s regional commander. “It’s been a very useful tool for us.” But the new Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network also has “caused quite a stir” among watermen and the public as the number of oyster violations mounted during the season, Richardson said. Read more here wboc 09:08
Maryland Natural Resources Police Charges Five Watermen with Oyster Poaching
“The message is out,” said Col. George F. Johnson IV, NRP superintendent. “Whether it’s patrolling the waters, checking seafood trucks on the highways and back roads, or conducting surveillance from the air with MLEIN, we will do whatever is necessary within the law to protect Maryland’s natural resources.” Read more here maryland.gov 08:36
Police in Md. Seize Truck Filled With Undersized Oysters
EASTON, Md.- Maryland Natural Resources Police say officers seized a tractor-tractor filled with oysters, many of them undersized, as it traveled through Easton on Wednesday night. Read [email protected] 18:22
I wonder how much of this goes on? Maryland Natural Resources Police Seizes More Than 200 Undersized Bass
A Silver Spring man is scheduled to appear in Annapolis District Court on November 15 on charges he and three companions caught more than 200 undersized striped bass. [email protected] 09:47
