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One reason for DECLINE of Stripers

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From WBOC website:

BALTIMORE – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced William J. Lednum, age 41, of Tilghman Island, today to a year and a day in prison, followed by six months of home detention as part of three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and to defraud the United States through the illegal harvesting and sale of 185,925 pounds of striped bass.

 

Judge Bennett also ordered Lednum to pay $498,293.40 in restitution to the State of Maryland for the damage caused to the Striped Bass fishery. In addition, Judge Bennett ordered Lednum to pay a fine of $40,000.

 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division Sam Hirsch; Secretary Joe Gill of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR); and Honora Gordon, Regional Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

“We are very pleased with today's court decision,” said DNR Secretary Joe Gill. “This individual was stealing from Maryland citizens and law-abiding waterman. We are proud of the great work done by Maryland Natural Resources Police officers.”

 

According to his plea agreement, Lednum and his co-defendant, Michael D. Hayden, were “captains” on fishing vessels owned by them, William J. Lednum Fisheries, Michael D. Hayden, Jr., and Michael D. Hayden, Jr., Inc. The defendants also employed numerous “helpers” as part of this scheme, including, co-defendants Kent Sadler and Lawrence Daniel Murphy.

 

From at least 2007 to 2011, Lednum and Hayden engaged in a scheme to illegally poach at least 185,925 pounds of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay in violation of Maryland regulations relating to harvest method, amounts, tagging, and reporting. In an effort to conceal their crimes, Lednum and Hayden admitted that they falsified paperwork related to their harvests and submitted those falsified documents to the State of Maryland. The State of Maryland in turn submits such paperwork to numerous Federal and interstate agencies responsible for setting harvest levels all along the eastern seaboard. Lednum and Hayden shipped and sold the striped bass to wholesalers in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, receiving a total of $498,293.47 for the poached fish.

 

The investigation in this case started in February 2011 when the Maryland Department of Natural Resources found tens of thousands of pounds of striped bass snagged in illegal, anchored nets before the season officially reopened. The conspirators were seen on the water in the vicinity of the illegal nets. The subsequent investigation unveiled a wider criminal enterprise for which Hayden and Lednum were sentenced today.

 

Co-defendants Michael D. Hayden, age 43, of Tilghman Island, Lawrence “Daniel” Murphy, age 37, of St. Michaels, Maryland, and Kent Conley Sadler, age 31, of Tilghman Island, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy. Murphy is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19, 2014, Sadler is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2015and Hayden is scheduled to be sentenced on February 27, 2015.

 

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Todd W. Gleason and Shennie Patel of the Department of Justice's Environmental Crimes Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.

:mad:

 

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

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I asked during the recent meetings if they account for any annual reduction due to poachers? The answer was when they are caught. Well what about all the ones not getting caught they are making significant impact to year class of striped bass. You and I know there are many more of these scumbags out there what about that reduction?


No answer.


I LIKE PIZZA!
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Always saw gill nets near Tilghman Island, thought they were some scientific study going on, guess not. That "making a living" excuse offered by the girl is getting worn out.

 

Completely agree on the crap excuse. The girl said one of the guys was high p in the fire dept so it wasn't like he was starving or anything. Also, they're offering to make several hundreds of thousand Softwar dollars of restitution. Seems like they have a fair bit of available cash.

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They're good guys.  What has that got to do with anything?  They knowingly did the crime not just once but multiple times.  They are criminals and should be punished accordingly.  This is not some guy that kept  a 27 inch fish when 28 is the limit.  They know the fishery is in trouble and could not give a **** and wanted to line there pockets with money.  They took 100's of thousands of pounds of fish.  I don't care if he is a fireman, he's dirty and should be punished severely to set an example.  Maybe that will make the next thief think twice.


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Quote:

Originally Posted by Bogey View Post

Always saw gill nets near Tilghman Island, thought they were some scientific study going on, guess not. That "making a living" excuse offered by the girl is getting worn out.


 



Exactly.  I grew up on the Shore, poaching is damn near a 'way of life' around here.  It's terrible, but until we become proactive...it'll continue til they're all gone.


"I can still count tony romo's career playoff wins on one hand"
-Jason Pierre Paul

 

"Folks, I'm so white, during the riots I went out and bought a television."

-Bobby Hill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew C. View Post

They're good guys....

No one else wanted to speak on camera because they're all pulling this **** down there.


Well, not all of us.  But it's more like, everybody knows somebody who knows somebody type of thing.


 



My family moved down there in the 80s, so we weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.  But since I grew up down there, it's easy to see it.  From the gill nets, to the poachers using friends/family docks to unload the illegal catch, if you know where to look it isn't hard to find.  I'll not only call DNR, I know a few officers personally, and have their personal numbers.  I get my kicks by getting those schmucks caught.


"I can still count tony romo's career playoff wins on one hand"
-Jason Pierre Paul

 

"Folks, I'm so white, during the riots I went out and bought a television."

-Bobby Hill

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Maybe its time to seriously consider making wild stripers a game fish instead of a money fish. It might help but I am a realist and these guys will always find a way around the law, but game fish status should help the striper stocks immensely.

Ron

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Well, not all of us.  But it's more like, everybody knows somebody who knows somebody type of thing.

 

 

My family moved down there in the 80s, so we weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.  But since I grew up down there, it's easy to see it.  From the gill nets, to the poachers using friends/family docks to unload the illegal catch, if you know where to look it isn't hard to find.  I'll not only call DNR, I know a few officers personally, and have their personal numbers.  I get my kicks by getting those schmucks caught.

 

+1. I LOVE calling DNR on people who are knowingly keeping and hiding undersized fish. I called DNR on 1 guy with a bucket of undersized flounder and he walks away real fast n tells me that if they as who's bucket that is tell em I didn't know. Instead I hollered down to DNR and they stopped him. (they already knew it was him from my description n everything prior)

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bogey View Post

That "making a living" excuse offered by the girl is getting worn out.


Yes it is. When a normal business isn't profitable the owner has to close it and move on. When a commercial fisherman isn't making money they say it's not fair, and they should be able to keep taking more from dwindling public resources. I really do feel bad for struggling fishermen, but that's life.


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