Poachers busted
 

they need to start taking licenses. WTF. The fines are not enough to scare anyone.

I was thinking the same thing :(
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Taking gear and licenses and names.

Unless the penalties really hit them hard, they won't stop poaching.
They will just change their approach to try and avoid future stings.

Since these POS's aren't riding in their first rodeo, they more than likely have established their poaching as part of their accepted way of doing business. So what if they get caught? The fine is less than one day's haul, and they can ALWAYS poach more to make up for it?

Hit them hard, prevent them from being able to poach by keeping them on land and away from fishing, and see how smug these dirtbags really are!!

Relative to taking someones license for simply speeding. Everyone knows it's illegal. Everyone knows the cops are always looking for speeders. Everyone knows their insurance rates will go up. Hell speeding is probably one of the main causes of DEATH to thousands of people every year. But there are those who still speed regularly. To them it's worth the risk.

add texting while driving...more deadly than guns (and that's a fact)

Big difference to me is that Ive never heard of anyone profiting from speeding. Not all but many of the habitual poachers and rule breakers are doing it to make money off of the fish either through the commercial markets or the black market. Most crimes that are done for financial benefit (stealing, embezzlement, fraud, securities violations etc...) have very stiff penalties.
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We were about 50ft from the whole rammin incident. We just sat there laughin thinkin these guys are out of tits all to catch fish.
It sent a pretty clear message to the 20 or so boats weds nite that sat around us on top of a massive pile of fish from 11pm till the bell cause no one was about to start fishin before midnight. When it came as usual the fish heard the bell and the school dismissed. So is the way of bay fishin
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If we're going to be comparing apples to oranges, let's also comparing them to watermelons too!

So poaching is like speeding, and should also be JUST LIKE selling military secrets to Russia, China and N Korea, RIGHT???

Sounds like a distraction ploy....start making absurd comparisons so the conversation gets sidetracked and loses its punch.

Wait, I can do the same thing by mentioning that these distraction tactics are generally used by fellow poachers and lawbreakers because they want to make their fellow "criminals" seem more "innocent".

I believe W Shakespeare is credited as writing: "Me think thou protest too much!"

take boat and or car
every time- no fine

Just look at whats happening with the Carlos Rapheal case, millions of dollars of fish poached and sold illegally on the black market. Audio tapes of him admitting his stealing and lying about his fish business and smuggling money (6 million) into foreign banks. Business as usual, has not been shut down and nothing has been confiscated. Latest news is that the case may never go to trial. He has plenty of cash for the best lawyers and will use it to buy his way out of trouble...again. I hope I am wrong.

I don't see this as poaching. Rather I think it is simple cheating. It hurts the honest commercial guys but if the fish are sold and counted under the allowed commercial quota it does not hurt the fishery itself, the way real poaching would. As a recreational fisherman I'd much prefer the DNR focus on illegal fishing that hurts the actual resource (such as recreational guys selling under the table or buyers under-reporting landings) rather than get involved in which commercial guy is screwing which commercial guy although I accept that honest commercial fishermen deserve protection under the law.
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^^

my thoughts as well- this was more of a "technicality"..... they pinched some guys for fishing earlier than allowed, and nothing else.

I understand they still violated the rules, but its not really "Poaching" in the broader sense of the word

If they are gaming the system and circumventing rules, take their license. Fines if needed too. Should be a deterrent.

Nobody dislikes poachers more than someone who sells dead bass legally. If these guys were fishing before midnight that's breaking the law much like speeding is breaking the law. They weren't setting gill nets across Chesapeake Bay in the middle of the night. They weren't purse seining schools off the beach or running tub trawls or dragging them up.
Much like speeding is not drunk driving, should both illigal/ law breaking activities carry the same penalties?
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Hey, for once I agree with Numb skull!

Numbskull pretty much said it correctly.

I 'll say the way it is run, they don't make it easy. You have 24 hours to fish. midnight to midnight. But you have to sell the fish during that time. You have to get to the market before they close. And if that is 6pm then you really only have 18 hours to fish. Not set up the best way. If you get into a late bite then you're screwed. Maybe it would be better to run it 1800 to 1800.