Two more nets reported found - Feb 8th

[Skip]

Saw on the 4 pm channel 13 news - two more gill nets were found.

Think the reporter said 1,100 pounds of Rock were in the nets - plus some Horse Crabs.

Only thing I can think of is it was down there for some time. I think Horse Crabs leave the bay in fall.

[crabby and son]

I'm sure there are miles of illegal nets left in the bay. They are going to stay there because no one will go near on to retrieve it now. They will have to be found by DNR. As long as they keep finding nets the season will stay closed.........Gary

[Blakesdad]

Unbelievable... I'm slowly losing my faith in mankind.

Heres the story: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/26795533/detail.html

[hippie]

This slow economy is driving people to do whatever it takes to just get by. Bad times are ahead of us!

[tacklemake]

Everyone talks about the nets DNR found but know dose anything about the nets in the 100ft hole off of bloody point that's been killing fish for years.............woody

[Rivercat09]

This stuff is literally making me sick to my stomach. I just sent this following text to members of the Maryland General Assembly. I lifted the text and modified it to suit my own message

Dear:

I believe that the Maryland Legislature and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources should implement a permanent ban on the commercial harvest of striped bass in Maryland waters by the destructive practice of gill-netting.

In light of the recent discoveries of illegal netting practices, the inherent difficulties of regulating such a fishery, and the unwillingness or inability of the honest watermen to provide information that would prevent such illegal activity, I ask that legislative action be taken to protect our valuable resource and to severely punish poachers.

The practice of gill netting kills indiscriminately. Other, equally efficient, methods of harvest exist, such as commercial hook and line fishing, that are easier to regulate and would limit the by catch associated with both legal and illegal netting. The citizens of Maryland, who are the collective owners of the resource and who fund the agencies responsible for protecting that resource, were victims of grand larceny not once, but numerous times by these nefarious practices.

Our resource is being illegally harvested outside of legal quotas and the manpower of our underfunded and understaffed Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Police are consumed with the difficult and dangerous task of regulating this fishery. For these reasons, I am seeking a complete ban on the commercial harvest of striped bass by gillnet and for severe penalties on poachers. Thank you for your time.


Sincerely,

RiverCat09

[Mikie]

Originally Posted by Rivercat09

This stuff is literally making me sick to my stomach. I just sent this following text to members of the Maryland General Assembly. I lifted the text and modified it to suit my own message

LET'S PASS A LAW!!! LET'S PASS A LAW!!!

Let me let you in on a little secret:
Anchoring a gill net is ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW
Not attending a gill net while it is set is ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW
Failing to mark the net with the necessary user info is ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW
Catching more then 300lbs/license/per day is ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW
Having a net set between 6:00PM and 3:00AM is ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW

Starting to get the idea yet? The people setting these nets are OUTLAWS - which means that they don't care about the law to start with. More laws only hurts the honest people who will follow them in the first place. The DNR has more then enough LAWS to nail these people but they seem to be unable to do so. Perhaps the DNR needs to revamp their inforcement procedures.