Two Fish Poachers Arrested in Brooklyn

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Two Fish Poachers Arrested in Brooklyn
By Sam Sifton
Here is good news for those who loathe the men who spend their days dragging umbrella rigs through the coastal waters of the New York Bight, hauling striped bass and bluefish into their boats by the dozen, then selling them illegally to unscrupulous fishmongers and restaurants throughout the city. Here, too, is bad news for those who feel people ought to be able to take what they can get from the sea, then sell it at fair prices to those who might not otherwise be able to afford the fare.

Two men were arrested this week in Brooklyn, hauling almost 300 pounds of illegally caught striped bass up to their truck, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Enforcement officers observed the men fishing off Breezy Point, the westernmost edge of the Rockaways, and followed them back to a dock in Shell Bank Creek in the Gerritsen Beach neighborhood, the D.E.C. said. The poachers had 46 fish, 44 more than the legal recreational limit. Forty of the fish were “shorts” — smaller than the legal recreational size requirement of 28 inches.