#1233038 - 07/16/1007:27 PM
Re: out of state commercial bunker poachers
[Re: ecurB]
Danny B
Member
Registered: 08/25/05
Posts: 1783
Loc: shelton
I placed a call and was told by the DEP that they were tied up on a case and couldnt get there just yet...other pal's of mine also called..nothing done!!!..I was told yesterday by Jim that the DEP finally showed and just watched the guy rape the harbor for 2 hours...again nothing done..I bet that DEP officer is an expert on netting bunker now..after 2 hours of watching he should be!!!PATHETIC!!!...I understand the DEP is short on staff..but when you FINALLY do show up..DO SOMETHING FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!..this is not a local guy baiting up!!!..Its a god damm ILLEGAL ring of dushebags wiping out the bunker and selling them up in Mass.and making big bucks doing it..DEP..dont become a joke like the rest of this state is!
Danny...Once again the booze is talking......When you're a law enforcement offier you must enforce the law...until the time comes when these folks can catch them breaking a law, then let it run its' due course. I understand your frustration but place yourself in their shoes...How can you arrest someone for not breaking a law?? We should arrest you tonight for driving drunk when only having one beer?? Because i think you should be arrested??
You dont see the junkies being picked up easy but eventually they get em...with some detective work.....with facebook & email everyone expects an instant gratification...it dont work that way unless you;re under Hitlers rule
In Bombings, we blame the Bomber. In Drunk Driving deaths we blame the Driver. In Shootings we Blame the Gun ??
#1233236 - 07/17/1002:37 PM
Re: out of state commercial bunker poachers
[Re: SoundsFishy]
EnCon Police Moderator
Registered: 03/01/04
Posts: 3899
Danny - chill out. Connecticut law allows for recreational fishermen to take bait for personal use, under current regulations there are no creel limits on bait.
The officer checked them and they told the officer that they were catching the bait for personal use. They had CT all waters licenses so there was NO violations found by the officer. There is no violation until they cross the state line. It takes 3 to 5 vehicles to follow 1 vehicle without being spotted. These guys had 2 or 3 vehicles so that means we would need 10 to 15 vehicles (and officers) to follow them. Tailing someone long distances works great in the movies or on TV, but in real life, not so much. We don't have the staffing to do it, the USF&W Service doesn't have the staffing (they have one (1) agent for all of CT). The State Police can't follow them with their helicopter as operational costs have grounded it except for emergencies.
Due to the limited number of officers that we have we prioritize our response activities. First priority is public safety, resource protection comes after that. The officers who work in that part of the state are responsible for Long Island Sound from New Haven to the Greenwich/NY border along with all the shoreline towns. They are also responsible for law enforcement in Silver Sands and Sherwood Island State Parks.
The public is screaming for reductions in taxes and in the state budget. As a result, budgets have been severely cut and staffing levels have been significantly reduced. Until the economy gets better that's the way it is.
I did talk to the Director of Marine Fisheries about this issue yesterday. They are going to look into the possibility of a creel limit on bait for personal use(for example, 50 or 100 in possession)in the upcoming regulation package. This would still allow recreational fishermen to catch bait for personal use, but hopefully stop the people like the ones you guys are complaining about.
Granted this is an extremely frustrating situation for any decent ethical fisherman and maybe even moreso for Enconn who DO take their jobs very seriously. I've had great results with the tip line but you have to realize it's luck of the draw sometimes. best course of action is to lobby for some regulations on personal use or the like. I agree as mentioned previously DO NOT take the law into your own hands, it isn't the answer and if someone feels angry or frustrated then can you imagine much that would be magnified if they wound up on the wrong side of the law while trying to right a wrong??? Driving through bunker schools is not illegal to my knowledge but be careful as these "people" might be a little whatever!!!
#1233258 - 07/17/1004:04 PM
Re: out of state commercial bunker poachers
[Re: EnCon Police]
Crazy Ivan
Registered: 08/26/02
Posts: 18009
Loc: New Milford, and Anywhere Salt...
Originally Posted By: EnCon Police
I did talk to the Director of Marine Fisheries about this issue yesterday. They are going to look into the possibility of a creel limit on bait for personal use(for example, 50 or 100 in possession)in the upcoming regulation package. This would still allow recreational fishermen to catch bait for personal use, but hopefully stop the people like the ones you guys are complaining about.
I think 100 is a fair daily creel limit that should go into affect immediately before all the pogies are gone!
I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!
Judge Smails:
"Its easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat. But the man worth while is the man that can smile with his shorts too tight in the seat."
#1233259 - 07/17/1004:13 PM
Re: out of state commercial bunker poachers
[Re: Crazy Ivan]
Water Dog
Member
Registered: 01/13/04
Posts: 75
Loc: Fairfield
My question is: Why are these guys allowed to park their sketchy, unregistered boats at the "Port 5" fishing club? Somebody at the club has to know what's going on... right?
EDIT: Upon further reading... They were probably using the launch next to the club and not the actual club facilities. Nevermind. Still hate those poacher bastages though!
^^^^^^^^^^^Yes, that's exactly it Water Dog. They're using the public launch in between Port 5 and Fayerwether to launch. Then leave the F350 in the lot while netting an estimated average 3,000 bunker a day.
A friend of mine went out this morning and said he had an extremely hard time finding bait. So basically it took them about a week to clean out the harbor. Time to start looking elsewhere for bait.
#1233281 - 07/17/1007:17 PM
Re: out of state commercial bunker poachers
[Re: Water Dog]
John from Madison CT
OffshoreFishingGear.com
Registered: 06/28/02
Posts: 15930
Loc: Old Saybrook (formerly Madison...
I can fully understand the frustration of Danny. So often we hear excuse after excuse by the DEP and other law enforcement officers.
Guys get written up for keeping a 18" Fluke, yet these guys get away with poaching because we refuse to do the proper inspection knowing full well that they are selling these out of state.
id speculate they are selling the bunker to guys doing lobster and or offshore for and wanting fresh chum.
the probelm with regulating the number of harvested bunker is many fold. One is that the size would be probelmatic. So someone wants to net 1000 peanut bunker, or baby bunker, which probably give about 5 lbs of bait, woudl also be restricted at the same amount as someone which want to take 1000 adults, which would be like a 3 year supply for most people. They sell bags of like 500 peanuts at most tackle stores so people just buy them instead..
Also, even if you restrict what people can take, even if the samll peanaut bunker, they are still going to get used whether they come from a bait dealer (or tackle store as frozen or fresh), or if the person catches them themsevles . If the bunker dont get used for bait for whatever they need it for, well, they people might not end up going out fishing. So its really just a little funny trying to restrict this.
My thought is just too just get back to fishing. There reall is plenty of bunker out there, although whne the migration pattern has passed, they do appear to thin out in some areas. There really are plenty of bunker, its a amfsc managed fish. Really, the least thing needed is more restrictions on the water.
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