That Thing That Never Happens Happened Again

On the Water, Chatham Commercial Striper Fisherman Caught with 324 Lbs of Illegal Striped Bass.  

A tip from the U.S. Coast Guard turned into a major bust off Cape Cod. Early on the morning of August 5th, Massachusetts Environmental Police officers responded to a report of a fisherman with suspected illegal commercial striped bass in the Ryders Cove area of Chatham.

Officers found the fisherman in possession of 18 striped bass, all of it landed on a closed commercial day. Six of those fish came in under the 35-inch minimum size limit for commercial striped bass. Further investigation showed the fisherman had landed double commercial limit for a single day.

A tip? I wonder who he pissed off. You can be sure for every case of poaching that gets busted, a hundred are getting away with it. And they're not being counted against the commercial quotas. 

In total, officers seized 324 pounds of striped bass. The fish were forfeited to the Commonwealth following a civil libel hearing, which came with a $1,863.00 penalty. On top of that, the fisherman was issued a Massachusetts Environmental Violation Notice totaling an additional $2,905.80 — bringing the total financial hit to nearly $4,800.

Massachusett commercial fishermen get a 35 inch minimum, and all we get is a slot from 24 to 28?