Natural Resources Police hook up spawning rockfish poachers with big fines, confiscate gear

An investigation by the Maryland Natural Resources Police and allied State and local agencies resulted in the charging of five anglers in Charles County last Friday for illegally fishing for Striped Bass in a spawning area and catching other protected fish.
Acting on information gathered during surveillance, NRP officers and members of the Southern Maryland Information Center watched as a group of people caught and kept Striped Bass from an area of the Potomac River that is closed to allow spawning. As the anglers left at 1:50 a.m., NRP officers and units from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office stopped them.