Last week, Lake George ice anglers John L. Fisher, 30, and Patrick Collins, 43, were cited by officers from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for exceeding the daily limit by 333 fish.
The daily individual limit for the tasty species is a liberal 50 each. But that’s evidently not enough to sustain these two self-indulgent fish hogs.
Presumably, the yellow perch on February 16 were not quite as hungry as March 14, when the same two poachers were cited with a mere 294 fish over the limit, an oversight they were assessed $250 apiece for making.
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This time, the two are also facing charges of illegal commercialization of wildlife. Joseph Schneider, a captain with the DEC, told the Glen Falls Post-Star that the possession of more than double the limit of perch is “presumptive evidence” they planned to sell the fish.
If found guilty of that charge, each could be fined $500 over and above fines for exceeding the creel limit.
The editorial writer at the Schenectady Daily Gazette is hoping the judge hearing the pair’s upcoming case will make an example out of the persistent perch poachers.
“We hope some serious fines get assessed here, because the overage was pretty egregious and because a stiff fine is probably necessary to put these guys out of business and send a message to other perch poachers,” stated today’s editorial.
We couldn’t agree more.
Newshound