Saving Seafood

Environmental police mum on identity of accused lobsterman

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.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Illegally caught striped bass seized

July 26, 2016 — Environmental Police confiscated 388 pounds of illegally caught striped bass with a market value of $2,400 Sunday from six commercial vessels in the southern Cape Cod Bay area, Major Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police said.

A patrol boat, two smaller boats and an undercover surveillance vessel saturated the commercial striped bass fleet after receiving numerous complaints, Moran said. Officers confiscated the striped bass along with fishing gear valued at $3,000 and issued about $1,000 in fines.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fisherman nabbed in Wareham with more than 200 sea bass over limit

June 1, 2016 — WAREHAM, Mass. — A Woburn resident was issued a criminal summons and had his boat, trailer and fishing gear seized by the state Sunday after environmental police found 209 sea bass over the legal limit in his boat in Wareham, said Major Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

That catch also included 122 undersized sea bass, Moran said. The legal possession limit of black sea bass for this vessel would have been 10 fish 15 inches or larger, Moran said.

Environmental police received a call from the Wareham harbormaster at about 4:30 p.m. to report a potential violation at Tempest Knob Boat Ramp, Moran said. When environmental police arrived, the boat in question, a 23-foot Striper, was being hauled out of the water by a truck with a trailer, he said.

Environmental police searched the boat and found eight coolers on the deck, Moran said. The boat had been fishing in Buzzards Bay.

With the assistance of the Wareham harbormaster environmental police sorted the sea bass from the scup, measured and counted all of the fish.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishermen cited, boat seized after police find hundreds of illegal sea bass

May 31, 2016 — WAREHAM, Mass. — A fisherman was given a criminal summons and five others cited after Environmental Police found them with hundreds of illegal sea bass Sunday.

Police responded to Tempest Knob Boat Ramp in Wareham after the Wareham Harbormaster called to report a possible violation, said Environmental Police Major Patrick Moran.

They boarded the vessel in question and found 8 coolers filled with sea bass and scup. After sorting, measuring and counting the fish, police found 219 sea bass, 122 of which were undersized, Moran said. The legal possession for the vessel would have been 10 sea bass.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Eight arrested in drug raids on New Bedford fishing boats

NEW BEDFORD, Mass — Eight people were arrested on local fishing boats over the past two days in drug raids by national, state and local law enforcement, who seized heroin and opiates that fishermen were intending to use at sea, police said.

“This is the second time we’ve done this, and it’s actually a continuing effort to (stop) the flow of illegal drugs from getting to sea, aboard fishing vessels,” said Major Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

“This operation, we had eight arrests,” he said.

Moran said environmental police worked with the New Bedford Police Department’s marine unit and local officers from the Department of Homeland Security in the two-day operation.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times