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If he was smart he would have shut his mouth, called a buddy to meet him on a boat properly equipped for Tuna and handed the fish over.

Then again what do I know...

...and for the record I WOULD NEVER, NEVER EVER DO THAT, I have a feeling something like that may be illegal !!!

Fish at night......

UV

Had a tuna permit - but the wrong variety, hunh? I suppose he was going to call it bycatch?

A few boats get to net, seine, whatever you call it -- but they got the Federal permits for it. Should have said he was rod and reel fishing while letting his net soak.

I wonder how the officials found out that he caught the fish????

Are they watching from a satellite now???

hb

He was the only guy doing back flips. Global Hawk saw him from above.

Radio chatter is my guess..............

Guy's
I watched the seiner White Dove out of Rhode Island catch over 2 dozen gaints in his net back in the early 80's, there were only a few boats that had seine permits, 4 I think. We were anchored up on Stellwagon bank chumming for gaints when they made there set aided by a spotter plane. They shot every fish with a rifle most of the fish were the old granders.

This poor guy catches a fish as by- catch and can even keep it, it would more that likely paid a lot of his bills, but the bureaucrats have to get there hands into his pockets. The bull sh*t regulations forced me out of the tuna chartering business back in the mid 80's and I stopped fishing for them in completely in 1993 off of a friends boat.

Sounds like Obama reasoning, you can fish but if you catch one you can't keep it, but the powers to be can sell it at a profit and the little guy gets the shaft.

Fed up with the entire corrupt system, I'm glad I am on the downward end of this experience. I don't think I could put up with all the BS for another 65 years.
Pete

Just think of the pain if he gets fined on top of them hosing him on his catch.

DQ

Gotta balance the budget somehow! It just gives them more money to squander.

Bad news for this guy and I don't know the answer.

Unfortunately many others could "accidentally target" blue fin with their nets and call it by-catch which wouldn't be a good thing, assuming you agree that this method being illegal is a good thing.

What was he supposed to do? Report it and hand it over at the dock or throw it overboard for shark bait. Seems like he thought he was doing the right thing, could have easily sold it illegally under the radar.

So this poor guy is made an example of. I'm not passing judgement either way just saying......For "them" to turn around and sell it for profit seems very wrong.

If that was your legal way of fishing and you hauled in a great white of any size that was now dead, you have two choices. Say nothing and dump it overboard, or bring it in and get arrested for being "in possession of" an endangered species. If it's still alive, pissed and tearing up your nets, several other choices come to mind. Lose your nets and let it die in the mess it's in, kill it, untangle your nets and throw it overboard. The last thing you'd want to do is tell anyone. Smart rules or dumb rules? These rules HAD to be written by people who never spent a day at sea.

So Walter if it's alive the legal thing to do is throw it back but if it comes in dead do you know what the legal obligation is?

Harry Babb wrote:I wonder how the officials found out that he caught the fish????

Are they watching from a satellite now???

hb

From what I heard in news reports up here I think he called NMFS himself to report the catch......

Apparently he thought they would let him keep it...

Ray

The fine will be 10,000.$ for the fish and 10,000.$ to the boat. They will tell him he has 30 days to pay and they will unchain his boat from the dock. If he pays right away he might only have to come up with 15,000.$

really makes you want to go fishing!!

Local news said he's giving up his tuna permit...a useless piece of paper...NMFS sold the fish and got all the $....twisted justice...BH

Brewster Minton wrote:The fine will be 10,000.$ for the fish and 10,000.$ to the boat. They will tell him he has 30 days to pay and they will unchain his boat from the dock. If he pays right away he might only have to come up with 15,000.$

Brew,
What I read was that NMFS met him at the dock cause he called on his way in, took possesion and brokered the fish to the Japanese market...


Ray

He will still be fined. No one gets away.

The law as it is written uses the term "In possession of". Dead or alive, if it's on your boat, you are in possession of it. In this particular case, he made the mistake of calling the NMFS. That may also save his ass in a court of law as he was not intentionally trying to catch the fish in his net and his intent was not to break the law. If that fish was sold (and my experience is the Japanese dealt with cash) I would have my attorney subpoena the bill of sale and the records of what was turned in to the NMFS. Sorry, but I grew up in the Bronx.

Its not a court of law. Its their court and their judge. They win 99% of the time. They sold the fish and got the $ and they will fine him and he will pay or they will sell his boat. He told the truth and is hard working= he will get screwed to the full extent of the law/ their law. Welcome to the world of the NMFS. I know these boys. Ask me how I know.

then ask me how i know! good friend hire the "dream team" to reduce fine from 25,000 . cost a fortune in legal fees . four month later paid 25,000 plus legal fees. in possession law killed him. had to also get rid of nice sport fishing boat because they were "keying" on him coming back from canyon!!!