Link: Boat captain guilty of trafficking illegal bass | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/va-beach-boat-captain-guilty-trafficking-illegal-bass)

The captain of a charter fishing boat that operates out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach pleaded guilty Monday to trafficking in illegally harvested striped bass.

Faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

According to court documents, the captain took a group of clients fishing on Feb. 12, 2011, in the zone.

When he learned Virginia Marine Police might board his boat, he ordered his first mate to throw all of the striped bass they had caught into the sea, the documents said.

Happens all the time off the SW Ledge. The only difference is the RI DEM guys are so under staffed that they rarely board any of the charter boats out of Galilee or anywhere else.

I have yet to get a an answer regarding Fishing in the EEZ zone SW ledge

Here is my question Its not illegal to fish EEZ waters its only Illegal to keep ( harvest) fish you caught in the EEZ.? and the reason I ask is
I catch and release I don't keep . Some say you cant target Bass I wish I was that good to choose what bites my line .. thoughts

Shocking (sarcasm) I would be willing to bet right now there a fleet of boats heading out past the line targeting"bluefish".

WSMSO I believe it is no target. Is it worth the hassle of gear seizure potential boat seizure. If you catch the wrong EPO on the wrong day. I would call the DEM and ask them for a written explanation. I would guess you are not the only person with a level of confusion on this.
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Shocking (sarcasm) I would be willing to bet right now there a fleet of boats heading out past the line targeting"bluefish".

WSMSO I believe it is no target. Is it worth the hassle of gear seizure potential boat seizure. If you catch the wrong EPO on the wrong day. I would call the DEM and ask them for a written explanation. I would guess you are not the only person with a level of confusion on this.
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Good post. It's illegal to "target" bass in the eez.

So I'm sure you could be a smart guy and say your fishing for bluefish - and then deal with an epo or coastie whose task that day is to send a message that eez fishing is illegal.
Maybe you can avoid the bass fine on a technicality, but I'm sure an epo trying to make a point can crawl up your azz and around your boat for an hour and find something to write you up.
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In RI that skipper would claim economic hardship and get a stern warning in response. Then he could run for public office.

Makes it even more confusing when OTW does a show on Stellwagon catching bass....can't remember the episode?

I have yet to get a an answer regarding Fishing in the EEZ zone SW ledge

Here is my question Its not illegal to fish EEZ waters its only Illegal to keep ( harvest) fish you caught in the EEZ.? and the reason I ask is
I catch and release I don't keep . Some say you cant target Bass I wish I was that good to choose what bites my line .. thoughts

As far as I understand it, they have to catch you possessing bass in the EEZ.

Sw ledge is not in the EEZ. The sub buoy is.
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half of the ledge is in the EEZ.
check it
Chart 13215 (http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/13215.shtml)

Sw ledge is not in the EEZ.
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Coming for a shore guy since he can't cast that far!:rotf2:

Hey mon. Eee zeee
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I hope he gets the MAX. All the DEM has to do is fly a chopper over them, stay there until the patrol arrives, and finish the investigation. There is a chitload of Captains down there that do this all the time. I had two friends of mine tell me about a trip they took. All around them every boat was keeping every fish.

Sad part is that there are people on this site that like to show off the pics of the jumbo bass they catch while on those charters an brag about them knowing full well they were fishing illegal waters in the ist place. SAD

i don't remember seeing anything like that? I always thought that the guys that go on those charters were typically jac-wads that would never bother posting on a site like this.

It's not a catching restriction, it's a possession restriction
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It seems that boats fishing SW ledge or any BI waters and return to mainland are in violation! Isn't some of the water between the island and mainland federal waters? It's no different that boats leaving the south shore of the cape and fishing east of Nantucket which is some of the best bass water in the world. The CG was stopping boats coming back to Harwichport and Chatham for illegal possession of bass in Federal waters. Why there and not RI?

It seems that boats fishing SW ledge or any BI waters and return to mainland are in violation! Isn't some of the water between the island and mainland federal waters? It's no different that boats leaving the south shore of the cape and fishing east of Nantucket which is some of the best bass water in the world. The CG was stopping boats coming back to Harwichport and Chatham for illegal possession of bass in Federal waters. Why there and not RI?

Call it a double standard but apparently the rhody lobby (maby risaa?) was able to get an exclusion of the fed waters between BI and the coast...

The text of the law, direct from NMFS:

EEZ closed to all striped bass possession or fishing. Atlantic Striped Bass may not be fished for, harvested, retained, or possessed in or from the EEZ. One exception - within Block Island Sound, possession of Atlantic striped bass is permitted, provided no fishing takes place from the vessel while in this EEZ area and the vessel is in continuous transit through the area. This area is north of a line connecting Montauk Light, Montauk Point, NY, and Block Island Southeast Light, Block Island, RI; and west of a line connecting Point Judith Light, Point Judith, RI, and Block Island Southeast Light, Block Island, RI.

I just looked at a bunch of charter sites down there showing all the dockside -LOL-legal fish they get. Strange only 1 fish is landed during the last big tourny down that way.Maybe cause way too many eyes were watching.Wasn't that why most of the net boats went to night time fishing. No one around to see what they do.They don;t return to daytime till most of the marinas have shut down for the season.

It's not a catching restriction, it's a possession restriction
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that's my issue if I have no bass on the boat in the fish boxes I don't see the issue Are the going to Cite me for trolling a tube over running
a niner rig or trolling a swimmer . I cant control what I catch but i am responsible for what i keep .. and if I dont keep bass I have caught I fell I am acting with in the Law .. ?

that's my issue if I have no bass on the boat in the fish boxes I don't see the issue Are the going to Cite me for trolling a tube over running
a niner rig or trolling a swimmer . I cant control what I catch but i am responsible for what i keep .. and if I dont keep bass I have caught I fell I am acting with in the Law .. ?

Well since you put it that way you keep your boat. Get a written explanation of the law from an EPO. Is it really worth it to not find out for certai. What the letter of the law is
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that's my issue if I have no bass on the boat in the fish boxes I don't see the issue Are the going to Cite me for trolling a tube over running
a niner rig or trolling a swimmer . I cant control what I catch but i am responsible for what i keep .. and if I dont keep bass I have caught I fell I am acting with in the Law .. ?


Remember that while you're enjoying the anal cavity search.

Moooon-River....
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Thought the idea was to leave the bass alone in the EEZ. Not to " bluefish " them.
Some people do what's right and some do not.
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Some days it's tough to keep releasing 30-50lbers hitting tuna spreader bars.:drool:

that's my issue if I have no bass on the boat in the fish boxes I don't see the issue Are the going to Cite me for trolling a tube over running
a niner rig or trolling a swimmer . I cant control what I catch but i am responsible for what i keep .. and if I dont keep bass I have caught I fell I am acting with in the Law .. ?

Read the law quoted above. If you are bluefishing, why don't you have a wire leader? Tell it to the judge. :)

Zac's is right, you are not allowed to target, catch or retain Striped Bass in the EEZ, most of those fish are breeder fish and that is why they are trying to protect them.

EEZ closed to all striped bass possession or fishing. Atlantic Striped Bass may not be fished for, harvested, retained, or possessed in or from the EEZ.


If that's how its written so be it.. Those are the details I have been looking for Thx . and I wish an EPO had this answer when asked I would have not been in the conservation if he had

It seems that boats fishing SW ledge or any BI waters and return to mainland are in violation! Isn't some of the water between the island and mainland federal waters? It's no different that boats leaving the south shore of the cape and fishing east of Nantucket which is some of the best bass water in the world. The CG was stopping boats coming back to Harwichport and Chatham for illegal possession of bass in Federal waters. Why there and not RI?

There are several corridors along the coast where boats can pass from legal waters through the EEZ without violating the law. That's one of them. There's another one off Chatham, since Nantucket Sound---all of it---is outside of the EEZ. Don't wander out of the corridor, and don't fish while you're transiting the corridor. Those boats were probably stopped outside of the corridor. CG sits on that corridor a lot during the Mass commercial season. Or they were seen fishing inside of the EEZ, and reported.

Depending on how far "east" of Nantucket you are, you could be in the EEZ.

There are several corridors along the coast where boats can pass from legal waters through the EEZ without violating the law. That's one of them. There's another one off Chatham, since Nantucket Sound---all of it---is outside of the EEZ. Don't wander out of the corridor, and don't fish while you're transiting the corridor. Those boats were probably stopped outside of the corridor. CG sits on that corridor a lot during the Mass commercial season. Or they were seen fishing inside of the EEZ, and reported.

Depending on how far "east" of Nantucket you are, you could be in the EEZ.

There is no safe corridor between nantucket and chatham/harwich...I know of a few charter boats have been stopped and fined for having bass on board coming back from nantucket...one captain twice..there's a one mile fed zone[eez] between the tip of monnomoy and brant point light....most comm. boats fish 10 miles out east of nantucket....some have been caught red handed by helo and on film doing it...never heard what happened in court....it's mostly the old school boats doing this around here.....they say we've been fishing for 50 years and no one is going to tell us when and where we can fish.