Busted !

[AndyS]

The beautiful 4th of July weekend weather encouraged many recreational fishermen to head offshore in search of tuna. As a result, CPOs from District 8 conducted patrols for compliance with Federal highly migratory species (HMS) regulations. During a boat patrol of the Barnegat Light inlet area, Lieutenant Petruccelli and CPO Meyer found one vessel in unlawful possession of two filleted bluefin tuna. The suspect in that case admitted to filleting the tuna because they were under the 27 inch size limit.
During the same patrol, Lieutenant Petruccelli and CPO Meyer also found another vessel to be in possession of HMS without a valid permit. On a separate patrol of the Townsend Inlet area, CPOs Nicklow and Tomlin found yet another vessel in possession of HMS without a permit. The cases were referred to National Marine Fisheries Service for enforcement action.

In mid-July, CPO Raker received a complaint of an 18 foot center console recreational fishing vessel retaining undersize tautog during the closed season off the Cape May Inlet Jetty. He responded to the complaint and conducted video surveillance from the security facilities at the USCG station Cape May. He was able to identify the suspect vessel and multiple violations with the aid of a recordable, high resolution remote camera. After the suspect vessel pulled anchor and was headed inbound through the inlet, CPO Raker performed a joint inspection with the USCG after jumping on one of their vessels that was patrolling in the vicinity of Cape May Harbor. After interviewing the crew of the suspect vessel and conducting a thorough inspection, twenty-three tautog were located hidden in the bilge of their vessel. Of the twenty-three tautog in possession during the closed season, twenty-two tautog were also under the New Jersey legal size limit. The violations carry a maximum penalty of $4,500.

On 07/09/2018, Lt. Scott and CPOs Nicklow and Woerner conducted a boat patrol on the Axel J. Carlson Jr. Reef. A total of thirty-seven recreational lobster pots were in violation and seized as evidence. Twenty-five pots were illegally deployed on the Axel J. Carlson Jr. Reef outside of the full access zones. Other violations for the thirty-seven lobster pots included: failure to call in to Marine Enforcement Unit prior to deploying pots, failure to properly mark gear, and failing to use degradable materials to attach escape vents. A follow up investigation resulted in five people being issued seventeen summonses

In late May and early June, District 7 CPOs performed several dedicated boat patrols aimed at enforcing the regulations involving fixed gear deployed on the artificial reefs in state waters. These patrols were in response to several complaints reporting that fixed gear was set outside of the reef’s designated full-access zones, specifically on the Axel Carlson Jr. Reef. The patrols resulted in one commercial lobsterman found to be in violation of having his gear deployed during the Lobster Management Area 4 (LMA 4) closure and using unapproved materials to secure his ghost panels to his traps. In addition, three recreational lobstermen were found with multiple violations which included, setting gear outside of the reef’s designated full-access zones, failure to notify the Marine Region Office when deploying and/or tending their gear, unapproved materials used to fasten ghost panel to trap, failure to have a ghost panel, and gear deployed during the LMA 4 closure. In total, twelve summonses were issued and one case was referred to the National Marine Fisheries Service for Federal enforcement action