Pirate Poachers of the Chesapeake: New raids on oyster sanctuaries; profiles of culprits reveal they are simply criminals in every respect

Pirate Poachers of the Chesapeake: New raids on oyster sanctuaries; profiles of culprits reveal they are simply criminals in every respect – The lawless and piratical instincts of outlaw watermen of the Chesapeake Bay may very well be inherited from the vicious and bloodthirsty pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries and certainly dates back to the 19th and 20th century oyster wars.

Oyster pirates fired cannon and rifles at Maryland Oyster Police and in 1879 Virginia sent a fleet carrying armed militia to capture and sink Maryland oyster pirates that had invaded Virginia waters in the dead of night.

Two years ago, Maryland’s General Assembly established oyster sanctuaries in various locations in Maryland waters in an attempt to reverse a one hundred year trend of diminishing bivalves.

In spite of the new laws setting aside areas of oysters for replenishment, a determined segment of the Maryland watermen and seafood industry has repeatedly violated the boundaries of the sanctuaries

Piney Point’s Golden Eye in the bull’s eye of Crab Cops for selling undersize crabs to Hagerstown’s Chics Seafood

PINEY POINT, MD. — After playing a starring role in a federal sting of rockfish poaching in recent years, a St. Mary’s County seafood dealer is once again in the sights of lawmen.

According to the Maryland Natural Resources Police, which is hell-bent to enforce laws against harvesting undersized crabs, reports finding several bushels sold to a crabhouse in western Maryland that were delivered to it by the Golden Eye seafood owned by Robert Lumpkins of Piney Point.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police made good on its promise last weekend to crack down on illegal crabbing activities as part of the “Don’t Get Pinched” campaign.

From seafood shops to recreational crabbers and watermen, officers checked catches, licenses and records as they aggressively targeted violators across the State.