Count the Ways that we will be regulated in the future

chunkster said:
Inquiring minds want to know.

Did the fish float or did you have them in a weighted bag?
Did you use binoculars to see the officers or did one of your
friends text you?
Click to expand...

Not something I did....A hypothetical from a real life experience.

I was on the docks on day and noticed a guy with a bucket that had out of season Porgy and undersized fluke. I honestly thought he may not know the regulations. So I said told him he had illegal fish. The guys looks at me and said F-you.
I said "Really?" Opened my cell phone while I was standing next to him and said. "Hi DEC. There is a guy on these docks with blue jeans, blue shirt and a Yankees cap. He has numerous illegal fish. Can you send an officer down here." I hung up and said to the guy... "No F-you.

The officer later called me. He did go to the dock. When the guy saw him he dumped the fish into the water. I asked if he ticked the guy. He said no.

BTW: I told this story once before online and got hate mail. I was told to mind my own business.

To your original question, if I were to do something illegal like that, the DEC wear blue on the docks and were easy to spot.
But for me it is a none issue I never gave much thought to as I do not keep illegal fish.
 
He was there and caught a tailor blue. I told him good job,
Good for you. There's a guy there with a couple of friends.
He was practicing distance casting with a ugly stick. Every
one is friendly. I mind my business. A simple hello and good
bye with a smile. The DEC guy gave me his business card.
You see anything suspicious give me a call. I thought to myself,
suspicious? If I call the guy The beer's on me.



That's my brother. I'm a policeman. Kind of hypocritical if you ask me.
It's none of my business and I for sure never tell anyone what to do.
Someone saying let me give you a token of advice is not a good idea.
The fella that was poaching obviously new it was wrong. Now that being
said. Is he dangerous? Does the DEC carry guns? It's in the trunk of
my car. The fish is the least of my worries.

maxresdefault.jpg
 
DEC officers absolutely do carry guns. They can ticket you on a parkway for speeding in addition to marine duties.
I can not believe that I feel compelled to post the following, AGAIN, and on Christmas.

1-844-332-3267

Or: Call the DEC 24-hour telephone hotline to turn in poachers and polluters toll free at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267)
It should be on everyone's speed dial already.
And I would have ratted out that guy as well. But without the fish in the pail, the officer probably couldn't do anything. At least the crabs ate well.
 
george said:
Now that the door is open, and circle hooks are a coastwide requirement look for this to expand and continue as the gov't takes more and more control over how we're allowed to catch a fish. How many bass are gut-hooked on trolled sandworms or a diamond jig with a bait teaser? I'm going to say very very few. I have never gut hooked any fish on a diamond jig.

I honestly believe these regs will increase every year. You're using too light line and stressing the fish so no more light tackle fishing? Imagine the stress put on a big bass on a fly rod? They will come after us for all of it. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. This reg passed with ZERO data to back it up. I get that it only makes sense that it will save fish, but so does not fishing them in warm waters, or on lures with 9 barbed hooks. Now that they got away with this coastwide regulation without having to give us anything in return, look for changes like this in the future.

These are some I can think of just off the top of my head if you can think of any please add them

No treble hooks
All barbs crushed
Minimum Line Strength
You must have a de hooker on board
No More Lead Products
No Summer Fishing for bass Due To Warm Waters
What if they determine that fish are being gut hooked on Gulp? Will they stop us from using it?

If they can force you to use a circle hook on a diamond jig because you have a piece of squid on there, they can do anything in the name of saving fish.
Click to expand...
Not that I'm a fan of the circle hook regs, but there are numerous scientifically accepted studies showing that using circle hooks reduces release fish mortality. Te vast majority of striped bass mortality comes for recreational anglers releasing fish. The law enforcement mavens at the ASMFC said that they could only enforce a strict requirement with no exceptions for rigged eels, baited ducktails, tube & worm etc. etc. MA even tried to get an exception into the mix for those techniques, and they were voted down. The reg makes sense for a species where the majority of the mortality is from released fish. I would even speculate that the released mortality is much higher than the 9% found in the Diodati study.
 
What are the size limits for commercials ? Not disputing your statement, just wondering how the netted fish (if any or how many get released) have a lesser mortality.
 
pequa1 said:
What are the size limits for commercials ? Not disputing your statement, just wondering how the netted fish (if any or how many get released) have a lesser mortality.
Click to expand...
It varies from state to state. But each state gets its quota which can't be exceeded. There are numerous sources for each states quota (ASMFC) and their local size requirements.
 
Three summers ago while fishing by myself, not another boat in sight on the northeast end of the sound I was boarded by Suffolk County DEC. They checked my paperwork and did a half ass job of going through the boat looking for an illegal catch. It was if they really weren't really looking which I thought odd. Been boared previously and they had turned the boat upside down looking. After 10 minutes of fooling around and leaving their black boot scuff marks all over the deck a local headboat was returning home. They jumped out of the boat and proceeded to follow the headboat picking up racks with a net. Needless to say shortly there after they board the headboat. At the time I was still a 1/4 mile away and decided to glass the activity. Ticket was given, DEC gets back on the boat and takes off. Upon further investigation with freinds in the headboat business I was told that it happens once a week, tickets get paid and is factored into the cost of a trip and also considered "the cost of doing business". And here we are trying to follow the law and restoring stocks? Read into this what you want. I'm not condoning the practice of poaching.
 
Poaching is a real problem in the western sound and lack of enforcement doesn’t help. If I were a DEC officer I could probably spend 95% of my time bouncing in-between the back of Pelham bay park, turtle cove, orchard beach, and both sides of the city Island bridge approach. The guilty are not Mr & Mrs John Q taxpayer. If caught their equipment should be confiscated. The officers are simply spread to thin. Some may argue certain baymen and lobster men put a hurting on certain species as well. I agree that there are some bad apples in that regard. Ghost traps are yet another issue.

Circle hooks? Ok. But I want to see the mortality rates of fish that are caught and have a towel wrapped around them so the fisherman doesn’t get slime on their hands. I think an equivalent would be taking 80 grit sandpaper to your skin.
 
then you like poachers because the police can't be everywhere.

IIRC, you run a charter or something like that ? If so, do you insure your fares follow the regs ?
 
Not at all
Police have their job
And I respect it

I simply wasn’t brought in a world or in a way that being a rat was acceptable

ratting on your neighbor who’s hosted a Christmas party last week
Or
Calling the dec because a guy caught a bass on a jig or over the li
Or some poor bastard needed a meal for his kids so he took a 15 inch fluke

you can try and spin it however you like and I’m sure you will

but that’s the way I feel
A rats a rat
 
Sure
But what’s that got to do with being a rat

if some client catches 52 scup
Or ends up with a seabass .5 inch short that we didn’t see
I certainly don’t call the dec
 
I’ve been known to go into someone’s pail or cooler and throw fish back and re educate a client
I’ve been know to ban certain clients from returning because they can’t or won’t abide by the regulations

what I won’t do is be a rat
 
It’s not difficult at all
You guys can dance around and play gotch games all week

I abide by and follow the rule
I state and announce the rules and regs
The crew tells the clients the rules and we actually
Enforce the rules to the best of our ability
but end of the day it’s the clients responsibility to follow them
And

I’m not a rat
 
TonySmjc said:
Not at all
Police have their job
And I respect it

I simply wasn’t brought in a world or in a way that being a rat was acceptable

ratting on your neighbor who’s hosted a Christmas party last week
Or
Calling the dec because a guy caught a bass on a jig or over the li
Or some poor bastard needed a meal for his kids so he took a 15 inch fluke

you can try and spin it however you like and I’m sure you will

but that’s the way I feel
A rats a rat
Click to expand...

I get. Had the guy responded on any other way other than F-you, I would have walked away. I also did it in front of him.
So it isn't like I snuck off and did it behind his back.
 
TonySmjc said:
I’ve been known to go into someone’s pail or cooler and throw fish back and re educate a client
I’ve been know to ban certain clients from returning because they can’t or won’t abide by the regulations

what I won’t do is be a rat
Click to expand...
So let me ask you this. You have a mate that says hey this guy at the bow is keeping short fish. Is that mate a rat?
 
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