Oh, the weather outside is frightful. Unfortunately, a little cold weather didn’t deter poachers from keeping undersized black sea bass, or possessing well over the legal limit of sea bass and porgy per NYS fishing regulations. A recent press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation detailed the findings of officers who responded to a complaint of a charter boat keeping illegal sea bass and porgy in Montauk late last month.
On Nov. 25, ECOs DeVito and Zullo responded to a complaint in Montauk, Suffolk County, about a charter vessel catching and keeping illegal fish. The Officers and East Hampton Police Department inspected the vessel when it docked. They seized 107 illegal fish—67 illegal black sea bass and 40 illegal porgy—and issued 13 tickets to several anglers onboard the charter for a variety of offenses including taking undersized black sea bass and possessing over the limit of black sea bass and porgy. All tickets are returnable to the Town of East Hampton Justice Court.
ECO DeVito with black sea bass and porgy caught illegally in East Hampton, Suffolk County. (Photo courtesy of NYSDEC)
In New York, vessel-based porgy (scup) anglers are allowed a legal limit of 30 fish per angler at a minimum size of 11 inches from May 1 to December 31.
The legal limit for black sea bass in New York, between September 1 and December 31, is 6 fish per angler at a minimum size of 16.5 inches.
