Tag Archives: poaching
N.S. Liberals promise to establish inquiry into illegal fishing
Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party is promising to establish a public inquiry into illegal fishing if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26. Liberal Leader Zach Churchill issued a statement Friday saying the party would also introduce a minimum-fine policy for those caught buying illegally caught lobster. There is already a maximum fine of $1 million for illegal fishing, but Churchill said more needs to be done. “We will establish a minimum fine to ensure that everybody who is buying illegal lobsters pays for putting the industry at risk,” he said. Churchill, whose Liberals are trying to unseat the Progressive Conservatives led by Tim Houston, also committed to creating a dedicated fisheries enforcement unit and a separate commercial fisheries office. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:56
Man accused of stealing crabs on Troublesome Point
A Currituck County man found himself in a pinch Friday night after deputies say that they caught him making trouble on Troublesome Point. Deputies say that they, along with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, arrested David Dixon, Jr. of Gibbs Woods around 11:30 Friday night after they caught him in the act of stealing crabs from crab pots in the Troublesome Point area of Currituck Sound. Deputies say that when they got near to Dixon Jr’s boat that the man jumped overboard and tried to swim away, but he was quickly caught. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:25
What Canada can learn from Maine’s approach to the lucrative baby eel fishery
Authorities in Maine say they have figured out how to regulate a fishery that is so out of control in Canada, the federal government has shut it down this year — the third shutdown in five years — putting 1,100 people out of work. Baby eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, are generally fished in rivers and streams in Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and a handful of Caribbean islands. They’re shipped live to Asia, where they’re grown to maturity and eaten — the dish is so popular it led to overfishing in Japan and Europe, leaving seafood wholesalers looking to Canada. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:07
The hunt for B.C.’s most notorious fisherman
On a Coast Guard patrol ship in nearby English Bay, Leslie Sanderson was awoken and briefed about a boat that might be fishing where it shouldn’t be. Through binoculars, a crew member quickly spied the suspect vessel, which was lit only by headlamps worn by the shadowy figures on board. The boat was listing slightly, with a trap-hauling line extending into the water. Strewn about the deck were traps containing about 250 Dungeness crabs, one of the most lucrative products in B.C. salt water. It was a haul worth several thousand dollars. Sanderson quickly identified the skipper, wrestled him to the deck, yanked off the man’s heavy fisherman’s rubber gloves and handcuffed him. The DFO had caught Scott Steer. Again. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:04
Man accused of assaulting conservation officer after elvers bust in downtown Dartmouth
The alleged incident took place one week ago — not on a remote rural stream, but on the Shubenacadie Canal in downtown Dartmouth. The federal Fisheries Department and the provincial Department of Natural Resources called police to the 100 block of Alderney Drive shortly before 10 p.m. local time on April 10. A spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police, Const. Ann Giffin, said a 39-year-old man was arrested and is due in court at a later date. James Nevin maintained he did nothing wrong. He claimed conservation officers did not identify themselves and that he was sprayed with bear spray in the course of his arrest at Martins Park. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:09
Chiefs vow to fight court action trying to limit where they can fish elvers
Indigenous groups are vowing to continue to fight a lawsuit trying to keep them off a number of waterways in southwestern New Brunswick. They also say accusations they threatened or confronted commercial fishermen are “wild allegations … and we don’t condone such behaviour,” according to a statement issued by four chiefs named in the lawsuit. “We will fight these claims in court, where we’ll argue there is no legal basis for the claims in this injunction against the Chiefs or the First Nations,” said the chiefs. The lawsuit filed by Mary Ann Holland names Neqotkuk Maliseet Nation (also known as Tobique First Nation), Sitansisk Wolastoquiyik (St. Mary’s First Nation), Welamukotok First Nation (Oromocto First Nation), and Woodstock First Nation, along with the four chiefs and some other individuals. >click to read< 19:28
Commercial elver fisher accuses Indigenous groups of poaching
A legal battle is brewing in southwestern New Brunswick between a licensed commercial eel fisher and some First Nations fishers. Mary Ann Holland, who has been fishing elvers since 1988, is accusing several Indigenous groups and individuals of poaching elvers in waterways where she has exclusive rights to fish. She has applied to the Court of Queen’s Bench for an injunction to stop them from fishing and from threatening and intimidating behaviour toward her fishers. >click to read< 10:26
The hunt for B.C.’s most notorious fisherman
Every year, officers in the DFO’s Pacific region collar a handful of serious rulebreakers, some more brazen than others. Scott Steer is in a class of his own, the most prolific poacher on the West Coast. He’s been busted for illegally catching just about every type of fish in the north Pacific: halibut, ling cod, sablefish, crab, prawns and more, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of quality catch over the years. He has been fined repeatedly, and when that didn’t work, the courts began throwing him in jail, while simultaneously slapping him with an escalating series of fishing prohibitions. When Sanderson’s crew nabbed him that night in Vancouver, Steer was already banned from so much as setting foot in a fishing boat until 2038. Big story, >click to read< 08:03
Coast Guard interdicts lancha crews illegally fishing US waters
Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted five Mexican lancha boat crews engaged in illegal fishing in federal waters off the coast of southern Texas, Saturday.,, Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi has intercepted 22 lanchas and interdicted 15 lanchas north of the U.S./Mexico Maritime Border since Oct. 1, 2019. 3 Photo’s, >click to read< 17:59
Environmental officers outnumbered by complaints of poaching.
Using two undercover officers posing as fishermen, environmental police focused their efforts on the canal, and on Sunday they seized 50 illegally caught striped bass and issued $8,000 in citations to 14 anglers. “The violators are both recreational and commercial fishermen,” said Environmental Police Maj. Patrick Moran, who said the sheer numbers for a one-day action were incredible. “Poachers are becoming more daring, devious and furtive, and it’s a daily struggle to figure out the newest scheme to skirt the fisheries laws,” Moran wrote in an email. >click to read<17:11
Inside the secret, million-dollar world of baby eel trafficking
In the parking lot of an Irving gas station in Aulac, N.B., not far from the Nova Scotia border, Curtis Kiley popped the trunk of a Toyota Corolla. Inside was a white bucket containing what looked like a giant hairball, the type that might be pulled from a bathtub drain. Except it was alive — a wriggling, slithering mess. This was just an initial sample Kiley had brought to show a prospective black-market buyer, a woman he knew only through text message as “Danielle.” He was ultimately hoping to unload up to 300 kilograms of the tiny creatures, a huge haul worth $1.3 million on the open market, but one he was offering at a steep discount. Moments later, Kiley’s world turned from dollar signs to handcuffs. >click to read<10:40
Fish cops’ keep eyes on the water
When too much of a resource is taken from area bays and beaches — a common occurrence when it comes to clams and crabs — it can put the species at risk of declining or disappearing. Preventing that is an ongoing battle in the Puget Sound region and requires having eyes on the water. >Click to read<11:27
Fisheries minister casts line to Ottawa for lobster poaching task force
Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell says he’s “very concerned” about the possibility of violence related to lobster poaching in southwest Nova Scotia and he’s proposing an idea he says worked in the past. Last week, representatives from several lobster associations raised the issue of poaching on the eve of the season’s close, saying they feared an escalation of tensions that last year saw several boats set on fire and threats exchanged between fishermen. >click to read<14:29
Illegal shellfish trafficking ring caught on video
Pierce County prosecutors have charged several men in a seafood trafficking case, including the former Natural Resources Director for the Tulalip Tribes. According to case documents, Joseph Hatch Sr. and his son, Joseph Hatch Jr., poached at least a thousand pounds of Dungeness crab and shrimp, selling the shellfish over several months in 2015. Hatch is a Tulalip tribal member and was serving in his role as head of natural resources while officers monitored his movement over five months. Video, >click to read<10:51
Maine Harvester Enters Guilty Plea, Maine Dealers Sentenced for Illegally Trafficking American Eels
Yarann Im was sentenced to six months imprisonment and three years of supervised release and Thomas Choi was sentenced to six months in prison with a fine of $25,000 today for trafficking juvenile American eels (also called “elvers” or “glass eels”) in violation of the Lacey Act, following a hearing in federal district court in Portland, Maine. The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. This sentencing follows the entry of a guilty plea on December 12, 2017, by Albert Cray,,, click here to read the press release 18:51
D.E.C. Ticketed Montauk Anglers for Dumping Fish
Marine enforcement officers from the State Department of Environmental Conservation, on patrol in Montauk Harbor on Aug. 31, saw what they estimated was hundreds of pounds of fish being thrown overboard from a Montauk party boat and wound up ticketing eight people, including the boat’s captain, Keith Williams. According to a D.E.C. spokeswoman, the officers approached the 75-foot Fin Chaser, based on Star Island, and ordered the anglers to stop what they were doing. Their orders were ignored, she said. The party boat’s customers were cited for possessing too many black sea bass and porgies, undersized black sea bass and summer flounder, and for failure to stop dumping upon command. click here to read the story 08:25
As eels grow in value, US government clamps down on poaching
Law enforcement authorities have launched a crackdown on unlicensed eel fishermen and illicit sales along the East Coast.,, In Maine, more than 400 licensed fishermen make their living fishing for elvers in rivers such as the Penobscot in Brewer and the Passagassawakeag in Belfast every spring. They say law enforcement is vital to protecting the eels and the volatile industry. Randy Bushey, of Steuben, has been fishing for elvers since 1993. He said he saw his income balloon from as little as $5,000 per year in the 1990s to more than $350,000 in 2012. He said tighter quotas mean he’s earning less these days, and in the most recent season he made about $57,000. “I’ve seen the best, and I’ve seen the worst,” Steuben said. “I want to see it preserved. I want to see it straightened out.” click here to read the story 08:16
The price to pay for spearing 320 spiny lobsters was a trip to jail Sunday
The price to pay for spearing 320 spiny lobsters was a trip to jail Sunday — and hundreds of charges for seven out-of-state men. The men, who were pulled over in a rented boat on the oceanside of the Vaca Cut Bridge around 4:30 p.m. by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, also had four out-of-season stone crab claws and eight fish fillets on the boat, according to FWC spokesman Officer Bobby Dube. On the boat was a bag containing 137 out-of-season wrung spiny lobster tails — 117 of which were undersized — the stone crab claws and fish, Dube said. click here to read the story 11:37
Striper Poaching Season Begins in Maryland!
On April 5, 2017, Maryland DNR reported that officers had charged nine men with possessing 87 striped bass from the waters of Dorchester County. On Saturday, an officer watched as four men caught striped bass and hid them in storm drains on Fishing Creek Bridge. The officer recovered 14 fish. Charged with possessing striped bass in a closed season were: Juan Manuel Bravo, 34, of Hyattsville; Emerson DeJesus Vargas Campos, 26, of Riverdale; Jairo Dario Ramierez, 22, of Upper Marlboro; and Elmer Antonio Castillo Araniva, 23, of Upper Marlboro. The next night, officers watched as five men from Prince George’s County caught fish and placed them in the trunk of an SUV. When officers stopped the vehicle and searched it, they found 73 striped bass in a duffel bag. There’s more! Lots more! continue reading the story here 17:03
Illegal mud crab fishermen targeted as price reaches $70 a kilogram
Authorities warn of stern action against those caught illegally catching mud crabs in New South Wales. With the crustaceans selling at $70 a kilogram, it is proving a lucrative crime for those offloading onto the black market. The NSW Department of Primary Industries’ director of fisheries compliance Patrick Tully said the area of most concern was unlicensed fishermen. “It’s illegal, unregulated and unreported,” he said. “We’re concerned that there are people using too many crab traps, not marking them so they can’t be found, and then selling them on what’s essentially the black market.” “At $70 a kilo one crab could be more than $70, they can grow to quite big animals. “It’s what we used to call the ‘shamateur’ — not a licensed fisherman, not really a recreational fisherman, just that person in the middle who is exploiting the resource at the expense of others.” Read the story here 15:34
Man arrested for poaching 153 black sea bass
A Rhode Island man fishing out of season was out of luck after being busted with 153 black sea bass at Mattapoisett Town Wharf on Wednesday. Mattapoisett Harbormaster Jill Simmons became suspicious of Belmiro Baptista, 65, of Patwucket, Rhode Island after helping him attach his boat to his truck. Baptista told her he had a commercial fishing license and was fishing for scup. He also told her he caught five or six sea bass, “for eat,” said the Portuguese native. He later said he had eight bass. Simmons, unsure if sea bass were in season, called the Department of Marine Fisheries and the Massachusetts Environmental Police, who told her that the fish were not, in fact, in season for recreational fishing until Saturday, May 21. Even if it had been the correct season, Baptista did not have a recreational saltwater license. The commercial season for the fish begins Aug. 1. Read the rest here 17:12
Florida Fish And Wildlife: 44 Illegal Spiny Lobster Tails Taken By Suspect, Charged With Poaching
One could call them the “J Team” of Officers James Johnson, Jeremy Foell, Jamie Richards and Jose Lopez. Foell and Richards inspected a commercial fishing vessel they saw pulling traps while they were on patrol in the FWC Interceptor with Johnson. During the resource inspection, officers discovered 44 wrung spiny lobster tails hidden behind hydraulic equipment on the fishing boat; 24 of the illegally wrung tails were undersized. When they got to shore, Lopez interviewed a suspect who was then booked into a local jail for the numerous poaching violations. (Link) 08:53
Mandurah: men fined $8000 for interfering with crab pots “just having a look”.
Two Halls Head men have each been fined $8,000 for interfering with commercial crab pots. On a Thursday night on November 26 last year, a Fisheries and Marine officer saw two people in a small runabout travelling around the Peel-Harvey Estuary and Cox Bay. Aaron Edwin Pollard (32) and Andrew Michael Collyer (31) were ordered to each pay $8,000 in fines, plus court costs of $169.10, for illegally pulling four commercial crab pots in Cox Bay under the cover of darkness. A recorded interview was heard in Mandurah court last week, where the men admitted to Fisheries and Marine Officers that they pulled the pots with the intention of Read the rest here 08:23
Illegal oyster harvest, drugs lead to 2 arrests in St. Bernard
Louisiana wildlife and fisheries agents arrested 33-year-old Oliver Rudesill Jr. and 23-year-old Tracy Gallardo Jr. for several oyster, boating safety and drug violations after a boating safety inspection earlier this week. During the inspection, agents found 28 sacks of oysters and learned that Rudesill is on probation for prior oyster harvesting violations. Agents also found Gallardo in possession of oxycodone, suboxone and drug paraphernalia. Read the rest here 08:42
Virginia Marine Police arrest two accused of poaching thousands of protected fish
Marine police have had numerous complaints about poaching in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River over the last two weeks, according to Marine Police Officer Bill Thompson. Marine police had found many untended, illegal and hidden nets that had trapped and killed between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds of protected fish species in that waterway recently. Both Yuan Li of Chesapeake and Bi Chen of Norfolk have been charged with several Class 1 misdemeanors and there are several felony charges still pending,,, Video, Read the rest here 08:10
Antarctic toothfish poaching ships shrug off New Zealand navy
Staying hidden behind sea ice and large waves, sailors aboard a navy patrol boat from New Zealand sneaked up on three suspected poaching ships, then took photos and video of the fishermen hauling in prized fish in banned nets from the ocean near Antarctica. Seemingly caught red-handed, the crews of the rusting vessels just kept on fishing. Read the rest here 09:24
Harbor commissioner mulling plea offer in poaching, perjury case
The poaching and perjury case against Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Aaron Newman may end in a plea deal after attorneys said during a Tuesday trial confirmation hearing that an offer was in the works. He has been charged with six misdemeanor violations related to poaching allegations, as well as. Read the rest here 16:45
Oakland couple fined, sentenced to jail for poaching dozens of Dungeness crabs in Half Moon Bay
A pair of poachers was sentenced to jail time and fined more than $20,000 Wednesday for smuggling dozens of Dungeness crabs in hidden compartments on their boat off the coast off Half Moon Bay. Read more here 10:03
Five Poaching Virginia Charter Fishing Boat Captains Sentenced for Lacey Act Violations
October 28, 2013. Nolan L. Agner, the last of five Virginia Beach charter fishing boat captains convicted of poaching Atlantic striped bass was sentenced today in federal court in Norfolk, Va. All five captains – including Agner, Jeffery S. Adams, Raymond Carroll Webb, David Dwayne Scott, and William W. “Duby” Lowery IV – were sentenced for violating the Lacey Act by selling illegally-harvested striped bass, the Justice Department announced. more@enewspf 22:28
Kent Md. Poacher convicted of overfishing striped bass
According to a news release from the office of Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, state Natural Resources Police began an investigation after receiving information that Pierce had been using fishing licenses that did not belong to him during the striped bass season in January and February of 2011. Striped bass regulations from 2011 allowed Pierce to catch the daily legal limit of 300 pounds per striped bass allocation. There also was a maximum permitted allotment for total catch per boat of 1,400 pounds per day. more@myeasternshore 14:39
