Tog Poachers in Westchester
4,020 views·18 replies·by george
On May 31, ECOs Chloe Swansen and Craig Tompkins patrolled Long Island Sound out of Rye in Westchester County. The majority of the vessels checked that day were in compliance with marine fishing and navigation laws, and one lucky angler had caught a 42-inch striped bass. However, on one of the vessels, the officers found three blackfish, known as tautog, and the season for these fish had closed on April 30. All three anglers on the boat admitted to catching a blackfish and, in turn, were each issued a summons for possession of out-of-season blackfish, returnable to the New Rochelle Court.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,158 postsSince 2018
Well, that's ONE. Keep up the work.
DeckhandOriginal Crew1 postsSince 2019
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How about the illegal fish traps around every rock pile.....When the marker buoys are lost and storms knock those pots away from original locations they will continue an endless cycle of killing tog. lobster/crabs go in to feed on tog carcasses and then tog go in to feed on lobsters/crabs. until pots disintegrate? I do not think the pots are easily biodegradable. Anyone know the half life on these pots? a year, 5 years,10 years, 20 years? Disgusting😱????
DeckhandOriginal Crew17 postsSince 2019
When the marker buoys are lost and storms knock those pots away from original locations they will continue an endless cycle of killing tog. lobster/crabs go in to feed on tog carcasses and then tog go in to feed on lobsters/crabs. until pots disintegrate? I do not think the pots are easily biodegradable. Anyone know the half life on these pots? a year, 5 years,10 years, 20 years? Disgusting😱????
I couldn't agree more, and what makes it worse is that they are totally unregulated. Starting next year the com fishery will be provided tags which will help. The next step is to register every potter and all of their pots.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,158 postsSince 2018
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I couldn't agree more, and what makes it worse is that they are totally unregulated. Starting next year the com fishery will be provided tags which will help. The next step is to register every potter and all of their pots.That will be a good start. Better late than never.
DeckhandOriginal Crew17 postsSince 2019
I wish there was some sort of way to keep ghost traps to a minimum. Back in the day we’d catch one now and then on the anchor. We’d open the doors and do our best to make sure they would stay open. We’d do this by tying them or wiring them open. On a few occasions we actually took them in and tossed them. This was years ago and again these were ghost traps.
I’d love to see some research on how long it takes for these traps to breakdown.
I’d love to see some research on how long it takes for these traps to breakdown.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,665 postsSince 2018
I wish there was some sort of way to keep ghost traps to a minimum. Back in the day we’d catch one now and then on the anchor. We’d open the doors and do our best to make sure they would stay open. We’d do this by tying them or wiring them open. On a few occasions we actually took them in and tossed them. This was years ago and again these were ghost traps.This is a great idea and a prime example of an issue that the nysdec would probably entertain if we were able to get enough speedy from the angling community.
I’d love to see some research on how long it takes for these traps to breakdown.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,158 postsSince 2018
SPEEDY??? Autocorrect run amok?Damn auto correct! I'm not how it turned support into speedy though ?
Fact is with the technology we have today there is no reason to ever loose a pot. I've seen them also and you wonder how many of them there are down there.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,158 postsSince 2018
Damn auto correct! I'm not how it turned support into speedy though ?Going forward yes. Hopefully.
Fact is with the technology we have today there is no reason to ever loose a pot. I've seen them also and you wonder how many of them there are down there.
Problem is when the lobster fishing was at its peak there were tons of licenses issued and pots being fished. Think 90s-early 2000s. Since the die-off things have quieted down big time, but I’m sure during those peak years lots of pots were lost. It’s those pots that remain that I’m concerned about.
CommodoreOriginal Crew5,665 postsSince 2018
Even now in the sound we pull at least one or two chains a season that get stuck on the anchor line, all unmarked, ghost hardware. Some of it looks new and illegal, some of it is eons old. EIther way it all gets cut up and doors opened and turned back to the sea.
DeckhandOriginal Crew33 postsSince 2019
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Fuckin g retards on this site. Ghost traps built acording to spec have steel hog rings on escape Hatch that rot out after about 6 months to let anything in the pot go free. You have no idea about any of it and your brains are to small to think outside the box potting should be outlawed period there is very little enforcement and no way to keep track of how many pots some one is fishing. Last people lose gear all the time it gets caught in an anchor line they get moved around every tried searching for a string of lost gear. Then you have no idea. So shut the fuck up
Deckhand0 postsSince 2021
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