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Conservation Officers were at the Barnegate ramp today 11/28

9K views 45 replies 26 participants last post by  Barnegat Light Mike 
#1 ·
They were checking boats for size violations. They inspected our boat and catch. We were informed that they had already issued four violations for under sized fish over the three mile line. The violators were issued State and Federal charges. :eek:
 
#4 ·
Good. Seen a bunch of pictures and videos on social media the past few days with land nowhere in sight. Hmm. I've done my share of "bluefishing" at certain spots this time of year when I was younger and I know where I'd be heading if I were a CO.
Any chance they were intentionally taking the pic with the land at the photographer's back so they didn't have to hear people bitching about spot burning?
 
#9 ·
The Officer at the ramp told me her partner was in a boat offshore and had just issued the citations. I heard her respond to him on her radio. She was handling the ramp inspections while he was offshore. I was on the three mile line Saturday and today and saw numerous boats fishing both days. Some were clearly over the line.
 
#11 ·
Honestly I'm a little tired of been stopped and searched. I drive approximately 25k miles a year on the highways and byways of the east coast and I have been stopped and checked (searched) or questioned more times in one fishing season then I have my entire lifetime of driving on land....and I am 58 years old. Yeah I don't want to hear I'm just doing my job crap. I gotta job too and work all week to get some enjoyment on the weekend or when the fish are running take some time off to do so without being shook down. I wish we took our southern border as serious as we do this 3 mile line. FC Sakes last year alone we were stopped 3 times in one day INSIDE that stupid line once by the coast guard and twice by the MD DNR. the second stop by DNR looked like Seal Team six with four guys in a stealthed out black rubber raft with it's members armed and wearing bullet proof vests...C'MON...you guys encourage this crap !!! Helicopters, drones, etc etc. it's to the point of ridiculous off Delaware and Maryland. Our inside the 3 migration was almost non existent last year and I'm guessing the Authorities were bored stiff so they "just did their job" ... I don't find it pleasurable being checked at nauseam. Yeah some of the guys doing the stopping and checking are nice enough and cordial but.... enough already .
This oughta stir up the conversation....FIRE AWAY :fighting:
 
#14 ·
Yep Maryland coastline is relatively small in comparison to NJ yet we have to purchase a saltwater fish or boat license now all in the "name of better fish management". My opinion is it just funded an overabundance of equipment and manpower to manage a small area. To top things off we have to compete with the "Steel Boats" who net inside that same narrow 3 mile limit. So on those craptastic days when the little boats can't get out those guys are there scooping them up. Multiple commercial license holders can join together on the same boat and have at it. So it really pisses me off that on those days we can fish inside the magical "3 mile FISH BOWL" we have to be subject to the State control forces in conjunction with the CG.. The last year or two has been a joke. I see millions of dollars in boats, helicopters, surveillance equipment, manpower not to mention pensions and overtime poured into this, especially since the inception of the saltwater licensing. Speaking soley on behalf of the recreational coastal bass fisherman I would like to know how many citations for illegal fish (stripers) were taken off our waters. I would betcha it is miniscule in comparison to the monies spent on enforcement overkill. For now Maryland reciprocates with Virginia with the coastal license. I would suggest to my fellow fisherman to "Starve" the beast and buy the Virginia license instead.
 
#15 ·
...Oh and think about this too, those commercial boats "Steel Boats" I mentioned. You NJ guys don't contend with that and that's a blessing. But just picture having located a big school inside the 3 let's say 1 1/2 miles off Barnegat or Cape May and their holding steady moving down the coast a mile or per day then the next day those commercial boats dragged through there and wiped them out ! That would certainly chap a whole lotta *** wouldn't it ? Then you are spot checked on the water or at the dock excessively. Thank your lucky stars they don't allow these commercial rigs to target stripers outside the 3 but when you have to compete with them inside you can see why one can be a bit sensitive about the enforcement leveled on the recreational guys down my way... Sorry for the rant
 
#16 ·
Didn't take the time to search the enforcement stats for 2015 but found this easily.

Deer and Striped Bass Poachers ChargedNovember 15, 2016Deer and striped bass poaching cases topped the cases handled in recent days by the officers of the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
[HR][/HR]Two Baltimore area men were charged Monday afternoon with multiple counts of illegal hunting in Anne Arundel County and had their shotguns seized.
Acting on a tip, officers found Eric Michael Nelson, 26, of Hanover and Dominic Salvatore Umstot, 19, of Elkridge, hunting in the woods off Family Areas Road in Hanover.
Neither man had a Maryland hunting license nor did they have written permission to hunt on private property. They were deer hunting with shotguns during archery season and had not purchased a bow hunting stamp. Neither man was wearing fluorescent orange for safety. Additionally, Nelson was in possession of drug paraphernalia.
Each man received five citations and two warnings. They will be scheduled for a hearing in Anne Arundel County District Court. If found guilty, they could each be fined as much as $1,550.
[HR][/HR]Officers on overnight surveillance in Dorchester County Friday and Saturday caught six recreational anglers poaching striped bass.
On Friday, officers saw two men catching fish near Fishing Creek Bridge and stopped their vehicle as they drove away. Inside, they found 86 undersized striped bass.
Martin Majano, 41, of Walkersville and Jose Osmar Martinez Gonzales, 44, of Gaithersburg, were each charged with keeping undersized striped bass and keeping striped bass under the legal minimum size of 20 inches.
Both men must appear in Dorchester County District Court. Their court date is Jan. 18. The maximum penalty for each man is $3,000.
On Saturday, four people were charged with illegal fishing in the same area after officers stopped their vehicle and found six fish inside.
Lila Del Carmen Hernandez, 54, of Washington, D.C., Idalia Elizabeth Hernandez, 30 and Roberto Carlos Fuentes Joya, 28, both of Beltsville and Jose Maria Hernandez Alberto, 54, of Silver Spring, were each charged with keeping undersized fish, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.
They all are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Feb. 15, where they could be fined as much as $1,500 for each offense.
[HR][/HR]Five Montgomery County men were charged with poaching striped bass Thursday by officers on overnight patrol in Kent Narrows.
The men, aboard a recreational boat, were stopped as they returned to the public boat ramp on Kent Island. A search found 17 fish, 16 of them under the legal minimum size of 20 inches, hidden away. The largest and only legal striped bass was 20 1/2 inches and the smallest was 12 1/4 inches.
Silver Spring residents Evaristo Hernandez-Ortiz, 44; Gilberto Anibal Contreras, 33; Juan Cristino Jonguitud, 36; and Rene Alexis Salvador, 28, and Rockville resident Carlos Mario Sanchez, 28, each were charged with keeping undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.
If the five men choose to plead guilty and pay their fines in advance of their Queen Anne’s County District Court date, their combined penalties will total $2,025. If they go to court and are found guilty, they could be fined a maximum of $1,000 per offense.



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[HR][/HR]
 
#28 ·
Didn't take the time to search the enforcement stats for 2015 but found this easily.

Deer and Striped Bass Poachers Charged

November 15, 2016Deer and striped bass poaching cases topped the cases handled in recent days by the officers of the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
[HR][/HR]Two Baltimore area men were charged Monday afternoon with multiple counts of illegal hunting in Anne Arundel County and had their shotguns seized.
Acting on a tip, officers found Eric Michael Nelson, 26, of Hanover and Dominic Salvatore Umstot, 19, of Elkridge, hunting in the woods off Family Areas Road in Hanover.
Neither man had a Maryland hunting license nor did they have written permission to hunt on private property. They were deer hunting with shotguns during archery season and had not purchased a bow hunting stamp. Neither man was wearing fluorescent orange for safety. Additionally, Nelson was in possession of drug paraphernalia.
Each man received five citations and two warnings. They will be scheduled for a hearing in Anne Arundel County District Court. If found guilty, they could each be fined as much as $1,550.
[HR][/HR]Officers on overnight surveillance in Dorchester County Friday and Saturday caught six recreational anglers poaching striped bass.
On Friday, officers saw two men catching fish near Fishing Creek Bridge and stopped their vehicle as they drove away. Inside, they found 86 undersized striped bass.
Martin Majano, 41, of Walkersville and Jose Osmar Martinez Gonzales, 44, of Gaithersburg, were each charged with keeping undersized striped bass and keeping striped bass under the legal minimum size of 20 inches.
Both men must appear in Dorchester County District Court. Their court date is Jan. 18. The maximum penalty for each man is $3,000.
On Saturday, four people were charged with illegal fishing in the same area after officers stopped their vehicle and found six fish inside.
Lila Del Carmen Hernandez, 54, of Washington, D.C., Idalia Elizabeth Hernandez, 30 and Roberto Carlos Fuentes Joya, 28, both of Beltsville and Jose Maria Hernandez Alberto, 54, of Silver Spring, were each charged with keeping undersized fish, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.
They all are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Feb. 15, where they could be fined as much as $1,500 for each offense.
[HR][/HR]Five Montgomery County men were charged with poaching striped bass Thursday by officers on overnight patrol in Kent Narrows.
The men, aboard a recreational boat, were stopped as they returned to the public boat ramp on Kent Island. A search found 17 fish, 16 of them under the legal minimum size of 20 inches, hidden away. The largest and only legal striped bass was 20 1/2 inches and the smallest was 12 1/4 inches.
Silver Spring residents Evaristo Hernandez-Ortiz, 44; Gilberto Anibal Contreras, 33; Juan Cristino Jonguitud, 36; and Rene Alexis Salvador, 28, and Rockville resident Carlos Mario Sanchez, 28, each were charged with keeping undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.
If the five men choose to plead guilty and pay their fines in advance of their Queen Anne’s County District Court date, their combined penalties will total $2,025. If they go to court and are found guilty, they could be fined a maximum of $1,000 per offense.



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[HR][/HR]
none of this was on the Atlantic coast side in regard to the topic and I'd venture to say some of the above weren't citizens of the country either
 
#19 ·
the idea of a 3mile line is just F'n stupid. Don't care for the reasons or not. It doesn't exist for any other fish except Striped Bass and its idiotic. So is idea of a Military Branch defending our Coastline demoted to playing Fish and Game Wardens. What a complete waste of money. Some day foreign invaders will be at our Coast
line and the CG will be too busy writing fishing violations to even notice it coming :)
 
#20 ·
All you guys bitching about the 3 mile limit will be the first to ***** when the stock is gone.My bet is each of those bitching were not fishing when we had to put up with a 3 year moratorium on catching Striped bass as a result of population bottoming out due to overfishing by both Recreational and Commerical.
 
#22 ·
The 3mile line has nothing to do with conservation!! Except to Not open Striper fishing up to Commercials. Its a royal pain in the *** and I personally would rather keep 1 fish than worry where the hell my boat is in relation to the shoreline or whether the coast guard spotted me with one of their drones beyond the line catching stripers. Caught many stripers 6miles off in the MIDDLE of the Chesapeake Bay and its not Illegal there
 
#21 ·
Damn Dave, you should have just posted a report.....now look what you started! I do like the point about probable cause??? I've been checked several times. It got a little crazy there for a while with the NMFS guy, I knew him by name and he was always very nice. Coast Guard watched us fighting fish inside of 3 miles, waited right along side of us, only to see us reel in an umbrella rig full of blue fish. Been checked at the ramp several times and in all instances except the CG waiting to see our catch, it only took a few minutes to let them do what they had to do. The CG boarded us to do a safety inspection on a Sun in Manasquan Inlet which was ridiculous to say the least. Current was ripping, tons of boat traffic and we are beat tired from an over-night tuna trip! That was the worst but still took less than a 1/2 hour. I always try to remember that they are there to save us and this is the cost for that service.......I hope I never need to make that call!
 
#27 ·
3 mile line is a real pain when your state allows commercial targeting of the species inside that boundary. As I said a large majority of the fish migrate outside that boundary off the coast of Maryland. On the occasions when they stray inside that narrow boundary there are commercial boats that make quick work of them leaving the Rec guys the scraps. I betcha if this was allowed north of your state you would have a different opinion regarding the 3mile line.
 
#29 ·
We wouldn't be complaining about the line. We'd be complaining about the existence of the boats, regardless of where they were.

Hell, we ***** about the comm boats down in VA. I didn't know there were comm boats in MD. Time for us to start bitching about them too.
 
#33 ·
About 2 weeks ago I was about 1/4-1/2 mile inside the line. I saw a coast guard helicopter come down the line. While I was trolling and checking the lines he came down very close that I could have easily casted my shad into his lap. I waved, he waved and after a min or two left. When I got back to the inlet there was a pontoon boat with 5 or so coasties and one or two other officers. I was not stopped as I headed to my dock.
 
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