I'd like your opinion

[StriperSniper]

All:
I know this is an old story but I ran into a situation where I felt I needed to contact the DEC and I'd like to get a idea of what others would have done.

I mostly fish the south shore of Staten Island and in one particular spot I noticed a large number of individuals bait fishing (9-10 poles in the water at the same time) being the fisherman I am I gave them plenty of space . I began to notice them hooking up, mostly small Stripers and Blues but what really caught my interest was that every fish that came out of the surf regardless of size ended up in the grass.

With that being said I really feel that a call to the DEC was warranted at the time since it was obivious that those fish weren't over 28'
but my ethical concern is that these guys may be putting food on their table or are from a place where conservation laws aren't important and they just don't know any better.

What would you do ?????

Thanks,
StriperSniper

[Tuna]

Call it in.

Yes, maybe they needed the food on the table.

Then again, maybe they did not.

If we assumed that everyone breaking the rules needed food on the table, we would not work to enforce rules we feel are valid (at least many of us agree that limiting catch of stripers is a good thing).

If they did not know the rules, they would learn them the first time busted. Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense.

Call it in.

[dollarshort]

Ya know I run into this conflict frequently on the Hudson River were I live.

I see guys out there hand lining, some have more than 5 rods in the water at a time and I can clearly see they are not from this country. I feel for them at times really. I know they do not waste thier catches but actually feed their families. At the same time we have laws in this country put in place so that insures us future catches and not the total depletion of a resource.

I have called in a few times and other times I have tried to explain to them that the fish is undersized or that they are only allowed to keep 1 a day. Some of them actually have appologized because they did not know we have restrictions.

I watched a guy one day keep at least 30-40 10-15 inch stripers and it almost made me sick. I kept watching and each one he put in the plastic C-town bag made me even more sick. I finally approched him and through some sign language and my not so good Spanish told him it was bad what he was doing and could go to jail. I see him from time to time on the river and he waves. I watched him a few times from a distance and he threw back the shorts and when he got one big enough he packed up and left. I felt pretty good that he actually listened and tried to abide by the rules.

I dont reccommend confronting people alone though. I have seen some bad fights and irrational behavior over the years. Call the proper athourities when you get to your car or away from thier sight.

If your lucky they will show up and take action.

[saltyflyguy]

>>but my ethical concern is that these guys may be putting food on their table or are from a place where conservation laws aren't important and they just don't know any better>>

I'm not sure what ethics are at work here. I see the same thing over here on Long Island. Most of the people involved are NOT from the US but are recent immigrants from the so called Pacific Rim. Just because catch and eat everything that swims, flies, walks, or crawls is OK there does NOT mean it's OK here.
CALL IT IN!!!!

[StriperSniper]

Just an update on my first post..I did in fact call it in yesterday and they told me they would send a patrol down to check it out but I was at this same spot again last night and no DEC folks were to be found.

StriperSniper

[charlie biddle]

There was a recent loooong thread on this subject on the New England forum. The concensus was to call it in! Note plate numbers, car descriptions etc. Be careful was the advise. It's your resource, protect it. Vote! Let them eat pigeons. (tastes just like chicken, I am told.) :rolleyes:

[ACE]

Saw a documentary on PBS last night on the Hudson and they did a segment on immigrants eating anything they caught. The commentator made a point that eating all this fish from the Hudson regularly was equivalent to poisoning themselves with PCB's. Do YOU know where your fish spent the last 5 winters? Maybe pigeons and squirrels are healthier

[dollarshort]

The funny thing about Hudson River fish is that when they are in the river they are "poluted" and "poisoned. I have heard this all my life as I live but 2 miles from the river. My arguement is these fish leave and migrate north to the Cape / Rhode Island / Maine / and some down to Jersey. My problem is how come there are no warnings in other states? They are coming from the Hudson correct? Do you think the minute they pass under the Verazano Bridge they miraculously purge their bodies of all PCB's???? I think not. So remember the same fish you have on the grill to feed your family and have showed all your friends, that you caught out of Montauk or some other location has a good chance of being a contaminated Hudson River fish. In my opinion the mercury gives them a nice mild taste--125-3

[Albiemanmike]

Yes Mike they are still contaminated. CT. has had a warning about eating them in the fishing regs manual for the last 10-15 years I think. Bass and Bluefish have the highest fat content of any fish we target, and the fat is where there contaminants end up in the fish. Once in the fatty tissue it stays there for all eternity from what I read. It is very hard for fish to expell contaminants from fatty tissue if at all. Another thing I read was that you would have to eat an unbelieveable amount of these fish to significantly raise the risk of becoming ill, that being said the same "experts" are the ones that say the bass are totally recovered and that there is no problem with our stocks. You be the judge, I eat maybe 2 bass a year if at all so I am not concerned but there are people out there who eat significant amounts of bass and bluefish these people should rethink their eating habits and reduce their consumption of these potentially harmful fish. I personally would be more fearful of the mercury content than the PCB's, I think mercury is a much bigger problem than we are being told. You been out? Catchin'?? I may try to get out eary next week the weather looks pretty good.

Tightlines,
Mike Mayo

[Capt.Dino]

This problem has been going on for a long time. There have been plenty of call's to the D E C w/o any thing done. I know of someone speaking to Capt. Rivello & telling him about the situation & the Capt. hung up on him.

I personally think they ( D E C ) are getting a kick back from these guy's. You can go out to Breezy Pt. & see 5 boat's almost everyday during the week taking everything they cacth. It's a shame that they don't enforce thelaw.

I can say that in the fall of 2001 I saw the D E C out by the V Z bridge & they came up to me & asked if they could come aboard & check my cooler's. I said no problem & then they replied your a fly fishing guide / I said yes & they said you don't keep anything have a nice day. I could go on for hour's typing about this. I just think the DEC " SUX "

[dollarshort]

Mike,

That would explain all the "weird " folks in my neck of the woods... he he he.

I was out on 6/22.... what an ordeal! Friend flooded engine at ramp.... killed the battery trying to start... trip to gas station for jumper cables... long ride in wind rain from Saugatuck to Middlegrounds. Caught 1 blue and got bitten off a dozen times. Hint#1: DONT USE WILDEYE"S WHEN BLUES AROUND.

Came home in 2-3's and white caps in a 17ft Aluminum..... I feel like I was beaten with baseball bats. Damn I'm sore.