Tag Archives: Poachers
Fisheries Officers Strike Over Safety Concerns
Fisheries Officers across NSW have begun industrial action over safety concerns after a number of violent incidents where they were shot at, threatened with knives and baseball bats and had cars driven at them. The Officers are demanding they’re issued with protective equipment like stab-proof vests and capsicum spray. Fisheries Officers are now avoiding certain areas and individuals at the very time fears have emerged that crooks, poachers and organised criminals like outlaw bikie gangs have taken over the state’s rivers, oceans and estuaries and are now plundering valuable species like abalone and rock lobster. Without direct Police assistance on operations the Officers are now refusing to complete inspections of commercial trawlers at nighttime. The Department of Primary Industries, which employs Fisheries Officers, attempted to force them back into dangerous night work earlier this week by applying to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission but the Commission refused to make such an order. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:38
Investigators followed up on a lead. Couple on hook for $1,400 bucks for selling recreational caught crab
An eastern Oregon couple has been sentenced to pay $1,200 in restitution after illegally selling recreationally caught crab on the commercial market in Hermiston, according to the Oregon State Police. Shawna and Gerald Wilson of Hermiston also will pay $100 each to the Turn In Poachers Line fund, and they are barred from obtaining a fishing or shellfish license for three years, the East Oregonian reported. State Fish and Wildlife troopers began an investigation after receiving a call on the TIP Line reporting crab advertised for sale on Facebook. >click to read< 10:26
N.S. Fishermen call on government officials to crack down on lobster poaching
Bernie Berry glances across the wharf in Digby, N.S., as several fishing boats stop alongside for crews to offload their catch. As the season for this lobster fishing area — one of the most lucrative in Canada — prepares to close on the last day of May, it’s bringing with it a flurry of activity. Berry and others here hope the hustle and bustle of fishing isn’t replaced with negative activity come June 1. “Everyone knows what’s going on,” he said. “This kind of stuff has been going on for years.” >click to read<
Tiny glass eel draws big money, political muscle and poachers
During the past few years, the GOP-controlled General Assembly has slashed the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries budget by about 40 percent, leaving departments understaffed and some employees bending under heavy workloads. At the same time, a review of more than 3,000 public documents shows that several elected and former state Department of Environmental Quality officials prompted what appears to be hundreds of hours of DMF time finding ways to justify obtaining a share of the federal glass eel quota to benefit just one company in Jones County — American Eel Farm, owned by Rick Allyn. click here to read the story 11:26
UPDATED: Poachers plead guilty to fishing violations after Buzzards Bay arrests
Four men pleaded guilty Monday in Falmouth District Court to fishing violations and paid $1,000 each after being arrested Sunday for illegally taking undersized black sea bass out of season and undersized scup. The four men — Son Nguyen, 38, of Springfield; Hai Nguyen, 45, of Southampton; Lam Nguyen, 42, of Hamden; and Raymond Ung, 52, of Agawam — were taken into custody and brought to the Bourne state police barracks, police said. The vessel, trailer and vehicle were impounded and all fishing gear was seized as evidence. click here to read the story 19:24
‘Why is there piles of lobsters in the woods?’ – DFO Investigates
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is investigating after dozens of piles of dead, dried-up lobsters were found around Weymouth, N.S., last week. Weymouth is in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34 and the season runs between the last Monday in November until the end of May. Jody Smith, a lobster fisherman from the area, said he and others found the lobsters in wooded areas where people have been known to illegally dump their garbage. “You’re wasting a valuable resource to dump it in the woods. This is sick,” click here to read the story 20:06
Black sea bass poachers on Buzzards Bay return with the season
Harbormaster and shellfish employees waded knee-deep in the Wareham River last weekend, fetching dead, floating fish and dropping them into black plastic trash bags. Each fish would serve as evidence. An angler had spied Environmental Police seizing 225 black sea bass from another boat and dumped his own illegal catch to avoid arrest. On the same sunny Sunday, beach-goers snapped cellphone pictures of boats that buzzed to the shoreline to drop off coolers, which Wareham Harbormaster Garry Buckminster believes were filled with illegal fish. The boats then motored back offshore to catch more. Its really a wild west in some of these areas, Buckminster said. Black sea bass season had officially begun. click here to read the story 09:12
‘Poachers, Polluters and Politics’: A Fishery Officer Reflects
If fish could sing, they’d surely croon many a good tune for retired fishery officer Randy Nelson. Nelson accrued many honours and accolades throughout his 35 years serving and protecting British Columbia’s marine creatures from poachers and polluters, both for his approach to the job and his efforts to resolve resource management disputes between the government and First Nations. Read more here 10:52
Three poachers plead guilty and sentenced for oyster theft
On Feb. 25, John Phillipe, 32, Patrick Sylve, 25, both of Port Sulphur, and Jean Taylor, 32, of Sparta, Tenn., pleaded guilty to numerous commercial oyster violations in Plaquemines Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Read more here kalb.com 20:19
Poachers: Jefferson Parish fishermen plead guilty in Plaquemines to red snapper violations
Four Jefferson Parish fishers fishermen pleaded guilty this week in Plaquemines Parish to red snapper violations. They admitted to intentionally concealing fish that were over their red snapper limit or undersized. more@nola 11:33
“We mean business.” Virginia Marine Police target poachers as oyster season opens
NEWPORT NEWS – Oyster season opens Oct. 1, and the Virginia Marine Police will combat oyster theft by air, land and sea in an intensive effort to end poaching. “We mean business. We will vigorously pursue anyone who violates the oyster regulations, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” said Virginia Marine Police Chief Rick Lauderman. “Stealing oysters from the public oyster grounds, private leased grounds or from oyster sanctuaries in particular will not be tolerated. Oyster poaching in Virginia will stop.” more@vagazette 17:18
Wayne Erny, 35, of Lake Charles, and Eric L. Linden, 33, of Grand Lake, cited for crab trap molestation violations in Calcasieu Parish
The citations stem from a complaint from a crab fisherman on Black Bayou that some of his equipment was stolen. During the course of the investigation, LDWF agents discovered the fisherman’s crab traps near Fred’s Lounge on Black Bayou. more@kplc 20:29
Two Metairie residents have been charged with stealing crabs out of Lake Pontchartrain.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division agents set up surveillance from the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain after receiving complaints about stolen crabs from crab traps in the area. @fox8
Washington Fish and wildlife officers on patrol for poachers
Sgt. Erik Olson and Officer Mike Apple were looking for crab poachers in the central Puget Sound area Monday. video@kirotv
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were busy busting poachers during the “For Future Generations,” operation
keysnews.com – State fishery managers have wrapped up a more than month-long mutton snapper spawn operation in which 52 vessels were inspected and 15 misdemeanor fishing violations and 12 routine boating citations were issued. continued
These guy’s are in trouble! Taking alligators during a closed season. Taking a bullfrog during a closed season. bullfrog? Hang ’em.
The agent cited Jason T. Causey, 23, of Gonzales, and Shane H. Knapp, 23, of Baton Rouge, for taking alligators during a closed season, hunting alligators at night with a firearm, illegal possession of alligators, taking alligators without a license, unauthorized use of a moveable, violating frog regulations for possessing a firearm, taking a bullfrog during a closed season and fishing without a basic fishing license. continued
