Recreational Angler Busted with 32 Undersized Rockfish; No Fishing License
KENT NARROWS, MD. — Hola, Hombre! One man was taking a siesta while another was hard at work snatching up every fish that swam near him, say police.
A Bladensburg man was charged Saturday with catching and keeping 32 undersized striped bass by the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Camilo Arturo Paez Herrera, 26, received citations for fishing without a license, exceeding the daily creel limit, possessing undersized striped bass and fishing outside legal hours.
Officers on patrol near the MD 18 drawbridge at Kent Narrows received a call at 6 a.m. about someone fishing illegally. When they arrived, they found one man fishing and one man sleeping in a car. The officers saw a clear plastic bag on the car floor filled with undersized striped bass and found another bag under the bridge containing more undersized fish. Herrera admitted to fishing since about 2 a.m. Herrera will be required to appear in Queen Anne District Court on the three fishing violations. The court date has not been set.
Great Wall Seafood didn’t get the message; DNR issues citations in a Fortune Cookie
GERMANTOWN, MD. — Perhaps the owners of the Great Wall Seafood Market, with locations in Rockville and Germantown, didn’t read their fortune cookies.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police make it clear to all which species are legal and which are illegal. The shops received citations after officers found a total of 61 live Asian swamp eels for sale. Swamp eels are an invasive species that competes with native species and can destroy local aquatic and wetland ecosystems.
Swamp eels are prohibited from import, transport, sale, purchase and possession in Maryland Each market was cited for possession and sale of the eels.
They are scheduled to appear in Montgomery District Court on Nov. 10. If found guilty, each market could be fined as much as $50,000. The case also is under review by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Catch those snakehead fish but kill them good and dead
MARBURY, MD. — After the record catch of a snakehead fish by Todd Murphy of Marbury, Md., interest is spiking for those seeking the great eating fish, some say is better than rockfish.
Candy Thompson, spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Police told THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY that the Department of Natural Resources encourages all anglers to fish for and keep all of the Snakehead Fish they can find. “What we don’t want people to do is to put them in live-wells and transport them, keep them in tanks or otherwise keep them alive,” said Thompson. “Kill them, don’t catch and release, they are an invasive species and are harmful in many ways to our waters and native species. They are good to eat and once they are dead and on ice, you are free to do with them as you wish.”
Specifically, she said the law doesn’t prohibit the sale by anglers or commercial fishermen of the Snakeheads they catch, some of which are now in monster proportions.
Thompson said the proliferation of Snakehead fish in Maryland began when a resident of Crofton had two in a tank which he was planning to turn into soup.
As time passed and he didn’t get around to the soup, the Snakeheads began to grow and grow. Thus the man took the fish and dumped them in a pond near a strip mall along Rt. 3 and the rest is history.
Cameron Seafood sells baby crabs; faces another round of fines
HAGERSTOWN, MD. — Caught in 2014 with undersize crabs, Cameron Seafood is at it again, says Natural Resources Police.
The Hagerstown seafood retailer is scheduled to appear in Washington District Court on Sept. 17 after receiving a citation from NRP selling undersized crabs.
On July 10, a NRP officer conducted an inspection at Cameron’s Seafood on Dual Highway. Two bushels of crabs exceeded the legal limit of five undersized crabs.
One contained 17 undersized crabs, the other contained seven. Hussein Kato Katende, 39, of Columbia, the manager of the shop, was given a citation and a warning. Last year, he was twice cited for selling undersized crabs and was fined $400. If found guilty this time, the maximum fine is $1,000.