"Codfather" busted

[Capt Sal]

It happens in NJ also.Years ago the Belford pirates raped the bay and only got a slap on the wrist. We still have gill netters setting up on Shrewsbury Rocks killing stripers and throwing them back to float away. I wonder what the other commercial fishermen think of him????He got caught or what an *******

[blindalfred]

Originally Posted by stevelikes2fish

Sounds like the NOAA police have failed in as much letting this go on since 2012. I say fire all the top pencil pushers in this waste of taxpayer funded agency.......

I'm starting to understand. The answer is less enforcement. A bit counter-intuitive, but brilliant. Think of the tax money that will be saved. We can always find something to fish for somewhere.

[NoLimit]

Originally Posted by blindalfred

I'm starting to understand. The answer is less enforcement. A bit counter-intuitive, but brilliant. Think of the tax money that will be saved. We can always find something to fish for somewhere.

The issue is that there is no enforcement of millions of pounds killed by commercial boats and an absurd amount vs hundreds of pounds killed by recreational fisherman

[JBird]

It's estimated that over 25% of seafood imports in the US are illegally caught or unreported catches.

[Capt. Debbie]

I doubt. Not all commercial guys are scum bags. No more than the gaggles of Asians who keep everything their hooks bring in off a dock representative of recreational guys.

It's just one POS

Originally Posted by NoLimit

Is there any doubt that the commercial fishing industry is ruining for everyone...under the guise of being legally permitted?

[Capt. Lou]

Ya one of many , time to wake up , the commercials are dictating are seasons , limits etc . They have clout and finances to push the sport angler out of the picture !
How can you say just one , we didn't create these shortages by hook and line fishing , they did by netting everything in site when regulations didn't restrict them one dam bit !! They didn't care about you and me , now we're forced to align ourselves with the same group that painted us into this corner .
I'm personally sick of this scenario in which we have to fight for a shared resource that was decimated by literally one group . We better wake up or it'll be over shortly , look at GOM how's that our fault yet we can't even catch cod up there , the home of our cod fishery !

[shrimpman steve]

Here is a good read:

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/201...make_mill.html

Talk about greedy commercials

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by Capt. Frank

I doubt. Not all commercial guys are scum bags. No more than the gaggles of Asians who keep everything their hooks bring in off a dock representative of recreational guys.

It's just one POS

Not all but alot. They think they own the ocean. There is no way we can work together they want it all and they are the reason for decimating the stock. Look at our home state of NJ for example. The commercial draggers wiped out the whiting and most of the ling. It is the same with every fish that has a price on it's head. I know there are some hard working law abiding commercial guys and i wish they were all that way but there not. My opinion is from what i have seen with my own two eyes not what the media puts out.

[blindalfred]

Originally Posted by NoLimit

The issue is that there is no enforcement of millions of pounds killed by commercial boats and an absurd amount vs hundreds of pounds killed by recreational fisherman

Now I'm confused again. Are we in favor of less enforcement by cutting funds for the enforcement agencies, as many on this board seem to be? Or do we just want the reduced funding dedicated to enforcement only of the commercial sector? If there is "no enforcement" now of the commercial sector how to explain the "Codfather" bust?

[Billfish715]

If I read the original article correctly, I noticed something about the bust. I realize that cases have to be built with evidence and that it takes awhile to bring them to court. What caught my attention was that the investigation seemed to follow the money and that it was more about illegal money transactions than the fact that he and his company violated the fishing regulations.

I'm glad he was found out and tried but it seems that law enforcement is more concerned with making corporate busts. The small fry pirates don't seem to matter as much.