Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Catch Illegal Red Snapper Haul
From KALB channel 5 television in Alexandria, LA:
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents wrote over 100 fishing citations to 20 men on Bayou Fourchon located in Lafourche Parish on Monday, April 28.
Agents stopped the charter boat, “The Captain Charlie”, which was occupied by 18 paid fishermen, the captain and one deck hand. Agents boarded the vessel to conduct a creel and license check of the fish and persons aboard. Upon receiving consent from the captain of the vessel, agents allegedly found 27 ice chests holding 909 red snapper.
Agents counted and measured every fish aboard the vessel and found that of the 909 red snapper aboard the vessel, 287 of them were under the minimum 16-inch size requirement.
The recreational limit for red snapper is two per fisherman, and the captain and deckhands are not allowed to possess a limit. Agents also discovered that none of the 18 fishermen were Louisiana residents nor did they possess valid Louisiana non-resident basic and saltwater fishing licenses.
The 18 subjects that chartered the vessel (all but one from the Atlanta area), along with the captain and deckhand of the vessel were cited for 106 alleged violations. The citations included angling without a non-resident basic and saltwater fishing license, federal charges for possessing undersized and over the limit of red snapper, and taking red snapper during a closed season. The red snapper season is closed until June 1, 2008.
Agents seized the 909 red snapper, which weighed 2459 pounds and were sold for a total of $9221.25. (There was no mention of what was done with the proceeds from the sale.)
The lesson here for all of us is: REPORT GAME AND FISH LAW VIOLATORS!
Comments
Wow, that’s a crazy amount of illegal fish! Remember that the only way you can catch fish is to Go Fishing Forum! - but don’t keep them illegally!
LMAO!!!!! That is what you get. Come over here from out of town and get REAL greedy. Hope ya’ll have a fat banking account cuz u gonna need it!!!
the charter captain should loose his license and forfeit the fishing gear and boat. however, this being Louisiana, none of that will happen. He’s probably out on a charter today!
Does anyone have the follow up to this
crime?
We are very interested to know what amount
of fine?
Last time I heard it was $25 to $5oo per fish…
Every one of these guys should have been arrested including the captian. If you get caught doing 20 MPH over the speed limit you can be arrested. This is a gross violation and the Captian is the most liable of them all. His license should have been suspended until a trial which should be mandatory. He should have to stand in front of judge and tell him how this could happen. Then the judge should revoke his license. There is no telling how many times in the past this has happened and without the Captian and his boat it can’t happen. Put the man under the jail!
Please send me follow up info on this. I hope they got the book!
Hello again Ron,
Thanks for posting stories like this and thanks to the folks in Lou’sanna for their work.
I too hope they all get the maximum punishment and then set them out to work on a road gang (i.e. Cool Hand Luke) for three months on the Bayou, during June, July and August. Nothin’ but beans, rice and water. No radio, TV, Phones etc.
Mark, Toledo OH.