Uncertified Digging

On February 4, 2005, ECOs Schneller and Wilber responded to a complaint in the town of Babylon that a person was clamming in uncertified waters, up inside a local creek. Upon arrival at the location, the Officers spotted a boat in the creek and indeed the clammer was busy digging away in the uncertified waters.  The ECOs patiently watched and waited from shore.  It was not too long before the clammer headed back to the dock.  He was very surprised when he was met at the dock by the two Officers.  The clammer was issued the appropriate ECATs and his tongs and shellfish were seized as evidence.

FDA Tip Leads To Big Catch

On February 9, 2005, ECOs Bartoszewski and Freeman responded to a call from an investigator with the US Food and Drug Administration concerning illegally imported oysters from Hong Kong.  Upon arrival at a cold storage facility in Brooklyn, the ECOs determined that the 31 boxes of oysters were taken from uncertified waters and illegally imported.  After interviewing the importer, it was determined that they were not in possession of a valid shellfish shippers permit.  The shellfish were seized in place and are scheduled for destruction.  The importer was charged with illegal commercialization of wildlife, failure to possess shellfish shippers permit, shipper in possession of untagged shellfish and possession of shellfish taken from uncertified waters.  Charges are pending in Kings County Criminal Court. 

Holding the Line

On February 12, 2005, while checking uncertified shellfish grounds in Patchogue Bay, ECO Murphy observed two clam boats, one with a single raker, the other with two subjects aboard tonging, slightly over the line into an uncertified shellfish area. While the violation could be considered minor, given the ice conditions on the bay at the time, ECO Murphy thought he recognized two of the diggers on one of the boats as subjects that had been arrested by Zone 2 Officers for unlawful digging a few months prior.  ECOs Canary and Burnell arrived to assist.  The boats were called into Corey Creek, a town marina, for a compliance check.  The one boat that was raking was given a warning about going over the line and sent home for the day.  The subjects aboard the tong boat were indeed the clammers known for “bending the rules.”  One of them did not have his commercial license for 2005.  He was issued an ECAT for commercial digging without a permit and both were given a stern warning about digging over the line.

Commercial Violations

On March 2, 2005, Marine Unit Officer Jordan along with ECOs Bartoszewski and Read, conducted inspections of several New York City Chinatown markets.  During the inspections, several marine fisheries violations and a freshwater fishing violation were noted. Retail markets in the area were charged with a wide range of commercial fishing and shellfish violations. All of the summonses issued are pending at Manhattan Criminal Court.

Unsafe Shellfish Stopped

On  March 3, 2005, ECO Valenty and DEC shellfish inspector Usbeck were conducting an inspection of a local shellfish wholesaler in Brooklyn based upon information that was received  stating that a shipment of Geoducks (a Pacific Ocean clam) was coming in from uncertified waters in New Zealand. Upon inspection the wholesaler was found to have 39 cases of Geoducks valued at over $5,000.00. The Geoducks were seized in place and the wholesaler was issued two summonses for selling the Geoducks without a permit and for selling Geoducks from uncertified waters. ECO Valenty made arrangements for the destruction of the Geoducks later in the week and the case is pending in court in Kings County Criminal Court.

Hidden Resources Uncovered and Summonsed

On March 17, 2005, ECOs Lochner and Lakeman were performing fish market inspections in lower Manhattan. The ECO’s had inspected several fish markets and seafood restaurants without finding any major violations. Upon entering the next location it soon became clear that the manager was trying to deceive the pair because he was evasive about where the store’s shellfish and required tags were being stored. When the ECOs went to check the cooler for themselves, they found numerous containers holding various species of fish and shellfish, including a bag of ‘chowder clams’ that were not tagged and a V-notched female lobster. After the manager was unable to produce shellfish records, the fish-market was issued citations for failure to retain shellfish records for 90 days, possession of untagged shellfish, and possession of a V-notched female lobster. The summonses are  pending in Manhattan Criminal Court.  

Bagged for Having Untagged

On March 17, 2005, ECO Hodor observed a Connecticut shellfish delivery truck traveling north on Route 9 in the Town of Wappingers.  The vehicle was stopped and an inspection of the contents was conducted.  The Officer found one bag of shellfish untagged.  The driver of the vehicle,  Mr. Vincent Esposito, was issued an ECAT for possession and transporting untagged shellfish. The case is pending in the Town of Wappingers Court.

NYS DEC Division of Law Enforcement Captain Richard M. Otterstedt Building 40 B - SUNY Stony Brook, NY 11790-2356 Phone: 631-444-0250 FAX: 631-444-0251 Website: www.dec.state.ny.us

Page last modified Friday, April 15, 2005 by George E. Carroll