Ok whats your opinion?
 

If they're breaking the law they deserve what they get. Period.

I think poaching may be a lot bigger problem than it appears.

-spence

Man did you open a can of worms here with this question so I will not voice my opinion because it would probably start out okay but then this thread would become a snot party. I think I'll keep my opinion to myself as it wouldn't change the world anyway but a very nice read on this subject. Thanks for that.

THROW the book at them or any of these miscreants who think they can flout the law regarding the sale of these fish etc. Law is a law. They deserve to be caught and imo the fine isn't big enough.

I didn't know there were breeding bass offshore though maybe this was misquoted.

poaching is poaching , until the law changes fine and jail them all , i would also like to see them enforce the tune regs. more i know there are a lot of people fishing without permits and not reporting catches

If they are breaking the law and get caught they should get in trouble

Again, its the law. When the law changes, then fine. But last I checked, we don't have the power to determine which law applies to me and which law does not.

maybe he was referring to what people think of opening the waters? or of commercial fishing etc. there was alot to discuss in that article.

Just follow the dam law.
You may not like it or understand it, but the law is the law.
Those who want to challenge it will get caught in time.

Thanks i should of been more specific.

Just because for the last dozen or so years these guys have ignored the federal waters restriction doesn't make it any less of a law. I think that money for enforcement has finally been made available, ( make note of the boardings that sudedenly started happening last year), because of the hiring of younger EPO's. All of us knew this activity had been taking place, and I for one(not that I fish from boats often) get pissed about because they are POACHING fish that might decide to swim closer to shore and a law abiding person might get a chance to fish for them. They are stealing a natural resource from you, and you, and you, and you. Take it personally.

It's a lot easier than you think to violate the EEZ ban without realizing it in the waters off Chatham and Monomoy. Let's not hang these guys unless the evidence that they were intentionally violating the law is clear.

The guy in New Bedford salting fish away before the season opened is a different story--pull his license, even grab his boat and gear. :rocketem:

Change the law
 

Laws need to have a deterent effect and the deterent here clearly isn't enough. I think they should lose their license. This would really cut down on the illegal fishing.
I was out at Plum Island yesterday and this boat first anchors right on top of the fish I'm casting to and then throws the shorts he's catching into his chest. Side was to me so couldn't get the boat's name.
Clearly, for some, the penalties for illegal catching, as constituted, are inadequate.

Rules are rules. You have to follow them, pretty cut and dried. Whenever money is involve you will have cheating.

There's two different subjects in that letter...one about poachers/taking more then their share and in off selling days..hang these guys forshore.

the second is about a dotted line on a gps map...I agree that the eez should be done away with and so do many in the fisheries dept.I've talked to them on the sidelines at meetings when the crowd wasn't present.

here's alittle fyi for you.....between monnomoy and nantucket there's a one[1] mile dead zone[fed waters]anyone from chatham to hyannis that boats to nantucket has to run through it to fish around nantucket....so when they go to make the run home and have bass on board, again they have to go through the eez....the epo's sit there in wait..boom your caught for having bass in fed waters....this ally way is bs...should have been changed long ago just like cape cod bay is mapped out..ptown to boston or abit north...alot of people would be in deep chitts if ccb eez was 3 miles from land all along the inside of the bay....the center would be off limits to bass fishin or carrying any bass from sandwich/boston to ptown or back.