Officers issued six tickets for having blackfish out of season and failing to release them without undue harm.
Recently, while patrolling near Robert Moses State Park, ECOs Perkins and Dickson checked a small fishing access under the Captree Island Bridge and observed three individuals fishing the rocky docks using green crabs, a common bait for tautogs/blackfish.
During the ECO’s inspection, which included a check of fishing licenses, officers found three black fish in a bucket next to the fishermen and another nine fish hidden in bags hidden among the rocks. The ECOs released four live fish; the rest died in the bags. Officers issued six tickets to the group for having tautog out of season and failing to release them without undue harm.
A few days later, near Robert Moses State Park, ECO Dickson observed a different group of anglers catching blackfish out of season. In Great South Bay, ECO observed three individuals fishing in a small inflatable boat.
As the officer approached the trio with members of the US Coast Guard Fire Island, the fishermen poured the contents of a small cooler onto the deck of the boat and covered the contents with the lid from the fridge ECO Dickson found the blackfish undercover and issued tickets to the group for catching the fish out of season and fishing without a valid marine fishing license.
During his day-long marine fisheries inspections in the area, Officer Dickson issued additional citations for similar charges related to out-of-season fishing. In addition to issuing tickets, ECO educated anglers on the importance of following New York fishing regulations.