Is MD DNR putting tracking devices on watermen's boats?

[hollywood9s]

Sure appears so..........
http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=13949133

[Hippie Joe]

it'd prolly be a good thing but it sounds like prime bullshit

[hollywood9s]

I just saw that this is already posted in the Conservation & Policy section, feel free to remove this thread if you choose.
I should have checked there first, my apologies.

[ROCKFISH_GAMEFISH]

Article fails to mention the subject's nearly two dozen "run-ins" with the DNR for all manner of "alleged" violations, maybe they had a warrant?

[David]

WJZ just did a segment w/one aboard Mr. Price's boat(not that they are responsible for the illegal nets).This may help clear as many as convict others. Cameras will be directed to the boats w/this device to see if there are illegal activities. Cudo's DNR very smart.Coastwide we need to switch from netting to Hook and line methods of capture and I hate to say it but I think hatcheries need to offset what we take to ensure a healty population ereguardless of wx,fishing pressure and other natural occurances up and down the coast.Raise as many #'s as a state takes should help.Oh yeah and BEND those barbs Riiight.:wink44:

[curly]

DNR would not invest putting a tracking device on a boat unless they had good reason!

[Popster]

I know they have put gps on trucks that they suspected were engaged in illegal activity.

[Ele]

DNR would not invest putting a tracking device on a boat unless they had good reason!

It looks like to me that they have one.

Ele

[rla69]

This will make them think twice before setting those illegal nets.

[ontheflats]

I guess the watermen didn't think about taking off the device, leaving it at the dock, go out and perform some illegal activity, and then reattach the device when they got back.doh

[hackeyfly]

I guess the watermen didn't think about taking off the device, leaving it at the dock, go out and perform some illegal activity, and then reattach the device when they got back.doh
It would almost seem that they are comfortable enough to sacrifice that opportunity in order to be indignant on TV ...kinda blows the argument that these are honest working folks forced to steal to feed their families.
Pat in Joppa

[Harlan seller]

Good for DNR - track them all!
If they arent doing anything illegal they have nothing to worry about.


here is a little history on Dean Price.
Note: Initial Sort is by Last Name. Sorting by other columns is available by clicking on the desired column header. Secondary sort is always Case Number. (0.51 seconds)
Case Number
Name
Date of Birth
Party Type
Court
Case Type
Case Status
Filing Date
Case Caption

0000001000ADJ
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court Traffic Closed 06/18/2009
00613000F3
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court CR Closed 02/11/1994
00825472T4
Price, Dean Christopher Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 08/14/1997
00855298S3
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 04/29/1995
00860011S5
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 09/20/1992
00870023S0
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 12/02/1994
00870149S0
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 06/12/1995
00876469S6
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 01/03/1996
00876825S5
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 06/01/1995
00876841S0
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 05/05/1995
00877987S5
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 07/30/1995
00881896S1
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Talbot County District Court NR Closed 09/02/1996
00881900S5
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 10/17/1996
00889343S0
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 10/22/1996
00889565S5
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 07/10/1996
00921431R0
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court CV Closed 10/08/1993
1Y66139949
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 02/10/2009
2Y00021611
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 01/11/2003
2Y66139950
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 02/10/2009
3Y00021612
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 01/11/2003
3Y66139951
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 02/10/2009
4Y66139952
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 02/10/2009
5Y00042733
Price, Dean Christopher Defendant Somerset County District Court NR Closed 02/15/2005
5Y00043027
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Dorchester County District Court NR Closed 02/28/2003
6Y00012431
Price, Dean Christopher 01/1975 Defendant Talbot County District Court NR Closed 02/21/2001
36 items found, displaying 1 to 25.[First/Prev] 1, 2 [Next/Last]

All of the NR codes are Natural resource violations for guess what? Striped bass infractions

[Shawn Kimbro]

Lessee.... guy with a history finds a tracking device on his boat and instead of hunkering down and staying legal, decides to make a big deal out of it with the press, thus calling more attention to his past illegal activities.

If they were smart, they wouldn't be poachers.

[Big Liar]

Good for DNR - track them all!
If they arent doing anything illegal they have nothing to worry about.




You guys are frickin incredible. That is like saying we should invade the privacy of all policeman. Just because a couple of cops gets caught taking bribes, let’s plant surveillance equipment in all cop's homes. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.

Just because you guys hate watermen, (because you feel they are your competition in catching fish), does not give you a valid excuss to make such stupid statements.

[Harlan seller]

Originally Posted by Harlan seller
Good for DNR - track them all!
If they arent doing anything illegal they have nothing to worry about.


You guys are frickin incredible. That is like saying we should invade the privacy of all policeman. Just because a couple of cops gets caught taking bribes, let’s plant surveillance equipment in all cop's homes. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.

Just because you guys hate watermen, (because you feel they are your competition in catching fish), does not give you a valid excuss to make such stupid statements.

Big liar,
I think you're a little off base with your analogy. DNR is obviously not monitoring ALL waterman. Impossible to do.
The watermen being allegedly monitored are chronic violators of natural resource rules/regulations.
Yoiu only monitor the habits/actions of suspected criminals as in this case.

Secondly no one said they hate watermen.
But I have no respect for anyone that knowlingly breaks the law over and over as many of these watermen have done over the years.
The habitual criminals deserve the toughest fines/penalties.
They not only rob the recs of their opps to catch fish but also other honest watermen plus they are destroying a natural resource.

[Big Liar]

I believe the first words in your original statement was "Good for DNR - track them all!"

[Harlan seller]

Big liar,
To clarify - when I said track them all, I meant the suspected criminals
who are robbing all of us of a great natural resource.
Who else would they would be tracking except known or suspected violators?

[bilgelife]

Harlan, I've got a friend that runs crab pots and to my knowledge never been in trouble. He explained to me the other day, that this coming year, there will be be a GPS tracker and a video camera on their boats. These will have to be activated every morning before leaving the dock by a phone call. I support tougher punishment for the ones that are caught breaking the law, but requiring all waterman/crabbers to do this doesn't feel right. Almost like having to put trackers on our guns because the criminals are misusing them.

[Harlan seller]

Biglife,
What is the official statement from DNR as to to why a GPS/camera system is being knowlingly implemented on your friend's boat as you state above?
There has to be some kind of good reason otherwise DNR would have a hard time convincing anyone they need to do it (legal system, watermen, etc.).
???

[hackeyfly]

This is a free country. If it becomes a condition that a commercial fisherman must attach a tracking or video device as a condition of the permit, that individual has the right to cease that form of economic pursuit. Damn near every commercial truck driver lives with some sort of tracking device. Nowadays it is a GPS transmitter, allowing the dispatcher to monitor the drivers position, speed, and schedule. Before GPS they used a device called a tach-o-graph, that recorded speed and rpm on paper. Before that, they paid midgets to hide behind the seat and keep tabs on the driver. Don't like it? Don't drive a truck. Don't want to be drug tested? Don't take a job that reqiuires it. Don't want a govt. agency monitoring your work? Get another job. I don't see the difference between tracking devices on boats belonging to watermen with a history of violations and a driver with a history of drunk driving with a breatherlyzer interlock in their vehicle, or a person with a history of drug violations being subject to periodic drug testing. If the waterman community would just give up the bad apples, none of this would be necessary. But the culture that demands they keep silent has led to this.
Pat in Joppa

[mitchmtm1]

You guys are frickin incredible. That is like saying we should invade the privacy of all policeman. Just because a couple of cops gets caught taking bribes, let’s plant surveillance equipment in all cop's homes. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.



No not every cop (or fisherman/poacher).....but the ones that have multiple past violations deserve some special attention. Is commercial fishing a right or a licensed privilege?

Mitch

[Harlan seller]

If you want to research the court appearances/cases involved in of the supposed 1% of the unscrupulous watermen (or anyone else for that matter), here is a great site if you dont already know about it - The Maryland Judiciary Case Search

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/processDisclaimer.jis

Search by name or company. Will give you any case type in any court (circuit and district) and the violation and outcome of case.
Find out how innocent everyone really is! :yes:

Might be good for some of you fathers to research your daughters' boyfriends too! :amen::D

[Gerald]

There ya have it. Makes since to me.


This is a free country. If it becomes a condition that a commercial fisherman must attach a tracking or video device as a condition of the permit, that individual has the right to cease that form of economic pursuit. Damn near every commercial truck driver lives with some sort of tracking device. Nowadays it is a GPS transmitter, allowing the dispatcher to monitor the drivers position, speed, and schedule. Before GPS they used a device called a tach-o-graph, that recorded speed and rpm on paper. Before that, they paid midgets to hide behind the seat and keep tabs on the driver. Don't like it? Don't drive a truck. Don't want to be drug tested? Don't take a job that reqiuires it. Don't want a govt. agency monitoring your work? Get another job. I don't see the difference between tracking devices on boats belonging to watermen with a history of violations and a driver with a history of drunk driving with a breatherlyzer interlock in their vehicle, or a person with a history of drug violations being subject to periodic drug testing. If the waterman community would just give up the bad apples, none of this would be necessary. But the culture that demands they keep silent has led to this.
Pat in Joppa

[capt.george]

Q["All of the NR codes are Natural resource violations for guess what? [B]Striped bass infractions [/B"{Q

-----Come Again?-

[crabby and son]

Going back to 1975, the officials put a tracking device in the trunks of our cruisers. It was called an iron sergeant. It wasn't put on a car because you were guilty of anything. Don't remember if it was a GPS but do know that it tracked your speed, response time and most everything that the vehicle did. I wasn't happy about it but there was nothing I could do except be on my toes. I see all of Sears repair vans have the GPS monitor system on the truck. I have seen people with the ankle bracelet on. If your employer wants one on your vehicle, there's not much you can do except quit. If the State gets a warrant, there's not much you can do about it either..........Gary

[bilgelife]

I think the GPS trackers on trucks are there so the owners of the truck company can monitor their trucks activity, I seriously doubt that an independent truck owner/driver uses a GPS device to track himself. It is my understanding these devices will be on all commercial crabbers, but I will check to make sure I'm accurate.

[Harlan seller]

Q["All of the NR codes are Natural resource violations for guess what? [B]Striped bass infractions [/B"{Q
-----Come Again?-


thanks for pointing that out Geroge. Not all of the violations were for striped bass - I guess I got lucky and the few I clicked on were for striped bass violations - too much gill netting used, using someone elses license to tag striped bass, undersized etc.
The rest were for crabbing, oyster and general fishing violations.
I guess he''s a well rounded individual when it comes to violating DNR regulations. ;)

[Thoroughbred]

I have an idea, how about instead of slapping the law breakers on the wrist every time they just confiscate all of his equipment INCLUDING the boat(s)? No need to track it then.

[capt.george]

[QUOTE=Harlan seller;1681565]thanks for pointing that out Geroge. Not all of the violations were for striped bass - I guess I got lucky and the few I clicked on were for striped bass violations - too much gill netting used, using someone elses license to tag striped bass, undersized etc.
The rest were for crabbing, oyster and general fishing violations.
I guess he''s a well rounded individual when it comes to violating DNR regulations. ;)[/QUOTe

---Harlan, I just Didn't wanta See Ya or others Before a MD. Judge on Slander Charges --

--My Md Rap Sheet Contains 2 Vilations for Undersized Fish --I had Parties both days & State would Not Re -Scedule W/O me going to Annapolis to Sign Requests --0900---1630 are times most of us are at sea --Paid Fines, & wrote letter to Court my Displeasure that I could not do a re Scedule Before a Deale Notary on a Fax Machine , Its not the Price of Doing Business, Its the Little things that no one Changes But I DID Call My DNRP officer to tell him I had done that , So he would not waste HIS VALUABLE TIME, coming to court --Its like Jury Duty I usually serve during the winter Holiday Season , so others won't have to loose "Going Home For Christmas Time"--When One Marylander Bleeds , We All Bleed --Good to hear from ya Harlen --geo.

[Big Liar]

Putting a tracking device on a company vehicle or govt. vehicle by the owning company is different than someone sneaking a tracking device on a privately own property by breaking and entering. I don't think anyone would have a problem if the officials made it a condition of probation. Similar to drinking and driving or probation from jail. A watermen agreeing that the DNR has the right to secretly or un-secretly track him as a condition of probation, is something that would not make my skin crawl. Criminals of attempted murder at least get notified that their probation officer can check in on them at any time.

This is like saying that once a person gets a violation that "Innocent until proven guilty" no longer applies to them for the rest of their live.

I've never had a violation, but with this. I feel that the DNR could potentially decide to come on to my property and tamper with my boat. At what point does a citizen of the USA lose his rights. When he has a navigation light out on his boat? Does a recreational fisherman lose his citizenship because he kept a fish that was 17&3/4"? No one has ever stated to any waterman, at what point his right of privacy can be violated.

Someone from the DNR needs to state publicly what that line is.

[fisheyed]

They already have a right to go on your property in fact they have more rights than the police in terms of going of private property. If your hunting on private property they can go on it. The coast guard also does not need permission to board a vessel and do a search. My be a good idea to have a coasty on board when checking out the comms.

On the first offense I can understand a a fine and a opportunity to continue but on the third fourth etc. it is time to use a tracking device or take the operators license and gear. Also not all infractions are equal. I can understand a mistake of going a little over poundage because it is hard to estimate based on numbers of fish, or a placard offense or forgetting the H&L flag, but when your illegally setting nets or fishing at illegal times or not tagging fish properly we shoud nail them to the wall.

[Big Liar]

That just it. No one has define probable cause. Does catching more than someone else classify. Before this happened, no one had ever heard of anything like this. The fact that this all happened before the current proposed bill ever hit legislature, has all watermen upset. DNR coming on to my property to check me while I'm hunting, is accepted because hunters know they have the authority. A DNR officer, coming in to your house when your not home to inspect your guns would pi$$ you off. You can't tell me that it would not. Whether you had a hunting violation in the past or not.

[ontheflats]

I've used every one of these excuses. They still won't take my ankle bracelet off.

[flycatcher]

Quotes from watermen would lead one to believe that it's way more than 1% who regularly break the rules. Even the larger fines, like $15,000 which we have been seeing in the past years are far less than the income tax that would have been assessed on the market value of the illegally caught fish - so the fines are still laughable. If I'm running where I ought to be when I ought to be, a GPS shouldn't make a difference. The sheer quantity of fish involved affects other commercials, recreational fishermen, the consumers, and future generations as well.

[crbfisher]

■ Information - Includes statements by witnesses, victims, and informants :cool:

Bingo! Don't be naive. This investigation has been going on for sometime now. Hate the game not the players.

[Shawn Kimbro]

Does anyone know how they found the tracking devices on the bottom of the boats?

[Francis]

Does anyone know how they found the tracking devices on the bottom of the boats?

I think maybe their net got hung up on it in the dark...

Sorry bad joke in poor taste, I know.

[Big Liar]

It was mounted under the washboard and when doing normal maintenance, it was noticed. Holes were drilled in the boat to mount the device. So maybe if holes were drilled in some of your boats, you might be a little more understanding?

[Ken Brice]

Does anyone know how they found the tracking devices on the bottom of the boats?

Shawn, This is what I saw on TV. The one waterman, found the device under his gunnel (Washboard). He (Dean Price ?? Not sure if that was correct),
found it. 4 other waterman also found a medal plates on there boat but not the device. Seems like they clued a medal plate and the device had magnetic
that held it to the plate.

[OldSalt46]

BL,

Quick question so I can understand. Have any of the parties attempted to collect compensation from the state for the desicration of their property?

From what I have been able to understand and research it sounds as though this is akin to a wiretap. It sounded like everything was done under a court search warrant. If that is the case, the warrants are often not public to protect the investigation. I'm not saying anyone is guilty. It just sounds to me like someone caught the DNR in the middle of a case or preparing for a case of some sort. Sorry for DNR if that is true but that's the breaks. Kinds like finding the bug in the phone...

If they have a search warrant they can wiretap my boat if they want to...Just don't let me find it. It would go for a wild ride...

[27 sailfish]

Old Salt - In this months ( Feb ) Popular Mechanics magazine - page #59 - there is a short mention of GPS tracking on cars.

States while illegal for citizens to put GPS on others cars - OK for government law enforcement to.

Mentions the US court of appeals - ninth circuit.

My guess it would apply to boats as well.

[Hookman571]

Does the information that DNR gathers become public information? I'd like to find out where the Rock Fish are so that I can be more succesful during Catch and Release.
If you accidently snag a tracking device, that might have fallen off, does it qualify you for Diamond Jim?
My wife is asking if she can get one of these devices for my boat. I'm getting p***ed!
Don't mess with the DNR guy who attached these devices. 36 degree water, whew!