|
A joint undercover operation by NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement and New York and New Jersey enforcement agents has uncovered evidence of alleged illegal fishing by two charter operators.
The operators, Steven N. Forsberg and Viking Starship Inc. of Montauk, N.Y., and Jerome E. Hurd of Avalon, N.J., have been charged by NOAA with taking their patrons to catch striped bass in federal waters, where capture of the prized sport fish is prohibited.
During the undercover operations, federal agents and state officers posed as patrons on several charter vessels operating in New York and New Jersey. |
|
|
Striped bass are one of the most sought-after species for both commercial and recreational fishermen from Maine to Cape Hatteras. The popularity of this fish, the complex nature of its migration, and its decline in harvest and recovery, led to significant management efforts in state waters by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and a ban on fishing in federal waters since 1990.
“Unscrupulous charter and party boat captains quietly promote their willingness to take patrons into federal waters, primarily when striped bass are scarce in state waters,” said NOAA special agent Jeffrey Ray. “This creates an unfair business environment that penalizes law-abiding charter and party boat captains who refuse to break the rules.” |
|