November 17, 2016 — The Massachusetts Environmental Police said Wednesday it is not naming the lobsterman for whom it is seeking a criminal summons for allegedly unloading 183 illegal lobsters last Tuesday at a local lobster wholesaler.
Major Patrick Moran of the Environmental Police said it is the department’s policy not to divulge the name of the lobsterman or the vessel until its officers have the opportunity to go before the clerk magistrate at Gloucester District Court.
“That is our policy and I don’t see it changing,” Moran said. “We still have to protect people who may be innocent.”
Moran did confirm the lobsters were landed at Captain Joe & Sons Wholesale Lobster Co. in East Gloucester, but said the wholesale lobster dealer does not share any culpability in the alleged massive violations that included 183 illegal lobsters — 144 undersized, 37 v-notched and two egg-bearing — from the 550 lobsters the unidentified vessel landed.
“We are not holding the wholesaler responsible, the reason being they hadn’t taken the lobsters into their possession,” Moran said. “There already was a federal officer on the scene and the vessel was gone by the time they started inspecting the lobsters.”
Frank Ciarametaro, a partner at Captain Joe & Sons, declined comment on the incident.