Lower the Boom on Fishing 'Pirates'

Memo to prosecutors: lower the boom on the Chesapeake Bay's fishing “pirates.” A black market in rockfish hurts not only watermen and anglers, but the whole Bay.

The Baltimore Sun’s Candus Thompson broke a disturbing story this past weekend. State and federal officials said they had broken up a multi-million dollar rockfish “piracy” scheme, the largest fish poaching operation in recent history, the paper reported. A series of charges were filed against five watermen and three fish sellers for allegedly avoiding catch limits and illegally taking scores of striped bass from the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay over a period of four years.  The ring caught an estimated 600,000 pounds of rockfish worth $3 million to $7 million, according to The Washington Post.

The Baltimore Sun in an editorial called the group’s systematic dodging of fishing rules “stunning in its scale and greed.”

The Washington Post described the fishing conspiracy as a “dockside Donnie Brasco tale.”   The poachers allegedly caught huge numbers of fish in large nets, and avoided limits on catch by cutting the mouths of the fish to make it appear as though they had been caught on hooks (which don't have the same restrictions as fishing with nets).  Five of the watermen pleaded guilty on Feb. 19.

Professional watermen and environmentalists alike support cracking down on cheaters. Not only can a few bad apples give all honest fishermen a bad name. They also steal from the folks who play by the rules. And their selfishness could lead to more stringent regulatory limits on catches.  More importantly, illicit harvesting of the Chesapeake’s treasures could tear the Bay’s already fragile web of life.

Larry Simns, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, told Bay Daily that he has mixed emotions about the investigation.

“But the bottom line is, I don’t condone them breaking the law, because they really take away from the other fishermen,” Simns said. “The rest of us are going to have to pay the price.”

He said he just wished the feds had wrapped up the investigation earlier, so fewer fish would been taken and fewer people caught up in the scheme.

Ken Smith, president of the Virginia State Waterman’s Association, said that he supports the aggressive prosecution of law-breakers of every stripe. “If they put stiff enough fines on it you’d get rid of the bad ones,” Smith said.

On Monday, the region's fishing regulatory agency is scheduled to meet in Alexandria, Va. The Baltimore Sun reports that some Maryland officials worry that the reports of poaching could trigger tough new limits that would hurt the commercial fishing industry in the Chesapeake Bay and drive up retail fish prices.

What to make of all this?

It is critical that the government vigorously enforces existing laws, whether they limit striped bass or crab catches.  Everyone must play fair and honest, whether it be local watermen, big corporations that own power plants, or anyone else whose actions affect our limited natural resources.

Any readers out there have thoughts or observations about fish poaching? Any experiences you'd like to relate?

   (Photos by Getty Images, left, and Yuri Huta, top)

Comments

[Dennis Doyle]

Tom: I'm confused. The Post and the Sun wrote about hundreds of thousands of pounds of rockfish, worth millions of dollars, caught illegally by watermen in Maryland, Virginia and the District. Yet in your blog to refer to "scores of fish taken over a four year period." The disparity of the two perspectives is mind boggling. And though only 8 indictments have been handed down so far there are reports of many other commercials who are involved and currently negotiating plea bargains. I've seen the CBF go out of their way to avoid ruffling anyone's feathers (heaven forbid) but when an incident that is "stunning in its scale and greed" ends up as a puff piece for the Waterman's Association I start to wonder on which side of the resource problem you're standing.

[Terpgal85]

That is just plain wrong. You would think that people who work daily in the Bay would respect the ecology and laws seeing how sick the Chesapeake is.

[Tom Pelton]

I certainly had no intention to underestimate the scale of the poaching, Dennis. In my article, I wrote that it was a "multi-million dollar rockfish 'piracy' scheme, the largest fish poaching operation in recent history."

But, to be more precise, I have now also included, in my story, the figures from The Washington Post article: 600,000 pounds of fish worth $3 million to $7 million.

Thanks for your feedback. Precise numbers are good to use.

[RCM]

DO MOST OF THE READERS KNOW THAT THE LOCAL POACHERS HAVE THEIR CONGRESSMAN AND SENATORS ON THEIR SIDE WHEN IT COMES TO BRAKING THE LAWS.AND THE FINES ARE SO LOW IT STILL MAKES IT PROFITABLE FOR THEM TO BRAKE THE LAW BECAUSE OF THE HUGE PROFIT MARGIN INCLUDING LEGAL FEES.
RCM

[Brian Matthews]

When found guilty they should be made to forfeit their commercial licenses as well as the maximum penalties. There is a waitng list of 560 people who have applied for striped bass permits. Let us have the opportunity to fish.

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