[SteveL]

The Post has a follow up piece that provides some more information on the striper poaching Lacey Act case--from the article:

"I believe that most of them thought that the worst they were doing was only a state violation," said Robert T. Brown, president of the watermen's association in St. Mary's County, where much of the investigation took place. "They didn't know they were going to be in a federal court, I can tell you that."

Entire article is on the following link:

Swimming in Intrigue in Backwoods of Md. - washingtonpost.com

I hope anyone considering selling yellow perch for shipmint to markets in the mid-west clearly understands that if anything about how those fish were harvested was outside the law that the transaction violates the Lacey Act because of the interstate commerce aspect. It may be time for some folks to wake up and smell the coffee--the feds play hardball and this is not rocket science!

 

[Ele]

So, since they thought it would only be a state offense, it makes it okay?

And, afterall, theys only country boys.

I hope they get the maximum fine and sentence.

Ele

 

[SteveL]

Ele,

As you can tell from my recent postings, I sincerely hope this case brings the yellow perch issue into sharper focus because although the amount of $ is much less for perch, it is the exact same issue.

 

[N3NFX]

Ahh yes, words from Mr. Brown. He by far is no saint either.

 

[Ray Parvis]

They need to impose maximum punishments to send a message baywide. I hope there are other investigations going on that we are not aware of yet.

 

[rgminer]

There we go with the good ol boy network. Making excuses..OK so they either didn't know that shipping fish over state lines was a federal offense or they didn't care. if they didn't know then they didn't know the regulations and had no business engaging in commercial fishing If they didn't care, they had no business in engaging in commercial fishing...So which is it? This kind of "making excuses" is getting old and does nothing but reduce respect for the states commercial watermen...

 

[Ele]

SteveL, Regarding the YP, I am with you all the way. You say it is no where near the Rockfish cheating, but, how do we know. If you have been to any of the meetings, you would realize, the way the commercials fight to harvest all the YP they can is because it is a lot more profitable than they let on.

They claimed they only caught 8,000 pounds last year, then changed it to 18,000. It wouldn't hardly seem worth it to put their nets in for that amount, but they fight too hard for it. You know they are making a killing and until we have better enforcement, it will continue.

Like in the Rockfish thievery, the catch far outweighs the fines.

Ele

 

[cujo]

Just a Joke to the Watermen Involved???

After reading Pete's post yesterday, then this one this morning, That statement proves to me that the watermen knowingly were violating laws, but thinking only state laws so their fines would be overcome by the profits would make it OK to do that....It is sickening that these "stewards of the sea" could continue ticket after ticket, fine after fine...It also proves the state really needs to update their part of keeping the laws in check...

 

[klramp]

What is unfortunate is that it appears that some (not all) have no fear of our state laws, like it is just part of doing business if they get caught. Maybe state officials will put minimum penalties on the books that will make all, not just watermen, think twice so our natural resource are around for a long time for generations to come.

 

[hackeyfly]

What's really unfortunate is the lack of support for the operation reflected in the "Comments" section. Seems folks think the Feds shouldn't be bothering with this "penny-ante" crime.
Pat in Joppa

 

[aaument]

So, since they thought it would only be a state offense, it makes it okay?

And, afterall, theys only country boys.

I hope they get the maximum fine and sentence.

Ele

Exactly my sentiments Ele - really ticked me off the arrogance displayed, and I thought the article itself was rather soft and downplayed the impact of their actions. Andy

 

[aafinest]

What's really unfortunate is the lack of support for the operation reflected in the "Comments" section. Seems folks think the Feds shouldn't be bothering with this "penny-ante" crime.
Pat in Joppa

600,000 pounds of fish worth millions of dollars ain't exactly "penny-ante" and that's all we know about in this case. How may hundreds of thousands of pounds were caught and sold before this investigation started. Maybe things will "cool" down for awhile because the hammer has been dropped but it would be foolish to think it will totally stop.

 

[goinsfishin]

This "country boy" sh%t as an excuse really ticks me off......I guess they were raised different. I'm a country boy from rural MD (Eastern Sho), but I was taught the difference between right and wrong, and also that "ignorance of the law makes you no less guilty".
These guys obviously knew that they were engaged in illegal activity and are now trying to play the ignorance card because they are in deep doo-doo with the Feds...what BS.
I hope they give them all the max sentences and fines.

 

[HCountyBasser]

..OK so they either didn't know that shipping fish over state lines was a federal offense or they didn't care....

? - It's illegal to ship fish over state lines?

 

[goinsfishin]

? - It's illegal to ship fish over state lines?

No. Not if the fish are legally caught, tagged or reported, and you have the proper permits to buy/sell on an intrastate basis.

 

[rgminer]

? - It's illegal to ship fish over state lines?

Sorry for being vague. It's illegal to ship any illegally harvested fish or game across state lines. Obviously in this case it was illegal fish. It's perfectly legal to sell most non game fish or unregulated game across state lines within the scope of state and federal guidelines. Most "wild game" is now farm raised so it's not much of an issue any longer.

 

[reel-crazy2]

Treat these guys like you treat your fish FRY EM

 

[27 sailfish]

One thing some overlook is the real value of a live Rockfish.

Picture a 27 incher.It gets caught in pre season by some out of state folks fishing with Walleye Pete.The paid for a hotel room, food, the charter trip, etc and had a great time but released the fish.

A month later - the same Rock is caught off the flats on Mike Benjamin's boat.Local guys this time but they still bought tackle, food, etc plus the trip fee.Picture is taken and the fish let go again.

Following month - Capt. George has a charter for trophy Rock.His party is out of state and again dropped some money at a hotel plus food in Deale.The 27 incher is just short so it is tossed back one more time.

Come summer time - our Rock gets caught by Capt. Greg Buckner off Solomons.This time the party keeps the fish.They are from Baltimore but sure dropped some money both coming and going to Solomons.Even the mate got a few dollars to clean the fish.

Just one Rock "earned" a lot of folks some money plus some tax dollars for the state.

The poachers steal more then just the fish when they take fish illegally.The few dollars they get per pound short changes a lot of people.

 

[Walleye Pete]

Hey Skip,

That even ticks me off more...........thanks for sharing your insight on that fact....

 

[jnashed]

Skip,

I was reading Saltwater Sportsman this month and the guides in Florida consider each bonefish something like 10-20K to the economy of the state. I don't know if it is that much, but the amount of money pumped into the economy from fishing is amazing.


Jim