DELMARVA - The Maryland Natural Resources Police released a list of citations in Eastern Shore waters this summer, with multiple fishermen allegedly reeling in illegal marine life.
Dorchester County
In June, MD NRP officials say they were patrolling the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area and spotted a commercial vessel being loaded onto a trailer after harvesting crabs. They say they did an inspection, and found 179 undersized crabs in a bushel basket, 45 undersized crab in another bushel, and nine undersized crabs in a third bushel. They add the males and females were also mixed together.
MD NRP say the vessel's operator was a 57-year-old man from Church Creek, and they issued citations for the undersized crabs, failing to keep the male and female crabs separate, failing to produce a certificate number, failing to carry working flares, and not having identification numbers visible on the vessel.
They say the man faces up to $6,000 in fines if found guilty. All the crabs were seized and released back into the Transquaking River.
In late July, officials say they performed an inspection of a recreational vessel actively crabbing via trotline in the Slaughter Creek area. They say they saw multiple violations, including having six people on a boat with a maximum capacity of five. Police say they found 61 undersized male blue crabs as well.
A 24-year-old Denton man was issued citations for crabbing recreationally on a Wednesday and being in possession of undersized crabs, which they say could be up to $2,000 in fines. A 30-year-old Bridgeville man was cited for crabbing recreationally on a Wednesday, being in possession of undersized crabs, having too many people on a vessel, and failing to mark buoys with identifying information.
In late August, police say they saw a group loading a vessel onto a trailer at a public boat ramp in Cambridge off the Choptank River. Officials started inspecting the boat, noticing coolers and buckets of fish. They say officers found six striped bass, 13 undersized male blue crabs, and ten female blue crabs. The group, a 29-year-old Silver Spring man, a 31-year-old Hyattsville woman, and a 40-year-old Brentwood man, admitted to knowing striped bass could not be caught during the August closure. They were issued citations for illegal possession of striped bass, targeting striped bass out of season, catching undersized blue crabs, recreational possession of female crabs, and more.
Officials say the crabs were returned to the Choptank River, and the striped bass were donated to the Tuckahoe State Park aviary.
Talbot County
In June, there were multiple commercial clamming vessels in Blackwalnut Cove, an area designated as a submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) zone, reserved for protection and restoration of underwater grasses. Police say the vessels' operators, a 29-year-old Tilghman man and 20-year-old Wittman man, were each issued a citation for using a hydraulic clam dredge in a SAV protection area, which is a must-appear offense.
In July, there was a commercial clamming vessel in Claiborne Cove, another SAV area. Police say they issued the vessel operator, a 71-year-old Stevensville man, was issued a citation for using a hydraulic clam dredge in a SAV protection area.
Somerset County
In July, officers were patrolling the Big Annemessex River and inspected a vessel harvesting crab with a crab scrape. They say the vessel operator, a 74-year-old Marion Station man, was operating commercial gear without a commercial license. They say he had a recreational license, which does not allow for harvesting crabs with the scrape. He was issued a citation for failing to obtain a tidal fish licenses for commercial activity, which could be an up to $1,000 fine
Worcester County
In August, MD NRP was notified of a trending video on social media of a man catching a herring gull from a vehicle in Ocean City. Herring gulls are a federally-protected species, which prohibits capture and possession of the bird without a permit.
They say officers identified the man in the video as a 26-year-old from Callaway and issued him a citation for illegal possession of a wild bird, which could be a $1,500 fine.
