Three Convicted of Selling Game Fish_TN

[JD7.62]

The only crime I see here is the .gov wanting every dollar it can get its hands on despite having to spend two to get it.

[twise7]

Perhaps the article was written wrong...there's no law against having a large number of cleaned and ready to eat fish (imagine all the restaraunts that have freezers full of catfish, tuna, etc.) The article makes it seem that all 600 fish were caught, cleaned, and sold on the same day...which would exceed the creel/possession laws.

My dad catches his daily limit of crappie on Lake Okeechobee and brings back coolers full of them (I would guess over 150 filleted crappie) at the beginning of spring for our annual family fish fry. Is it illegal for him to possess 150 crappie even though he caught them over a two month period? Surely not!!

Then again, who knows...seems like our Govt thrives on the premise of "making it up as we go" in regards to rules and regs and has the power to "read into the rules as they wish" in regards to the consequences.

[artcarney_agr]

Possession limit includes the fish in your freezer. You can't have twice the daily limit in your freezer. Fish in your freezer are fish in your possession.

I know with ducks it's the same way - they are federally protected birds though, so they carry more penalties and are therefore policed more. Same rules apply to state regulated fish.

Game wardens can and will check your freezer, they just have to have a reason to. With the penalties issued in this case, it's clear why they don't spend the time to check freezers.....no money in it for the time spent checking. This was an easy bust and is why it was done.

[mybentrod]

Text can be misleading and misinterpreted... Especially on this board, but I get the notion you have a background in law enforcement Art? I have seen you post in regards to law enforcement before about regulations concerning kdfw. I, not having that background, only years of fishing understood it to be on the water possession limits. What about the local pond owners? They are in possession of numerous Bass and other game fish. I just always try to apply the law and it typically matches my morality. This just doesn't seem right is all Art. Not saying you are wrong, just seems skewed.

[FlyLie]

Remember, this occured in Tennessee. Fish and Game Laws are not the same as in Kentucky. This is expecially true regarding their respective definations of "possession limit".

Also, remember, these guys were convicted of "selling" and "exceeding the limits". No information given on how many other charges they may have or could have had against them?

Refer to references below for clarification:
Information for Kentucky, taken from:
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/kar/301/001/201.htm

301 KAR 1:201. Recreational fishing limits.

RELATES TO: KRS 150.010, 150.170, 150.175, 150.340, 150.990
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 150.025(1)[150.025], 150.470
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 150.025 authorizes the department to promulgate administrative regulations to establish seasons for the taking of fish and wildlife and to regulate bag or creel limits[protect fish species from overharvest, allocate their harvest, maintain ecological balance and improve fishing]. KRS 150.470 authorizes the department to promulgate creel and size limits for fish. [EO 2008-516, effective June 16, 2008, reorganizes and renames the Commerce Cabinet as the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet.] This administrative regulation establishes fish size limits, daily creel[catch] limits, and [field] possession limits for fishing.

Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Artificial bait" means a lure or fly made of wood, metal, plastic, feathers, preserved pork rind, or a similar inert material.
(2) "Chumming" means placing substances in the water for the purpose of attracting fish to a particular area.
(3) "Cull" means to release a previously caught [live] fish that an angler has kept as a part of a daily creel limit and replace it with another fish of the same species.
(4) "Daily creel limit" means the maximum number of a particular species or group of species a person may legally take in one (1) calendar day while fishing.
(5) "Daylight hours" are defined by KRS 150.010(6).
(6) "Lake" means impounded waters from the dam upstream to the first riffle on the main stem river and tributary streams.
(7) "Possession limit" means the maximum number of unprocessed fish a person may hold after two (2) or more days of fishing.
(8) "Processed fish" means a fish that has been gutted and head removed.


Information for Tennessee taken from: http://www.tnfish.org/FrequentlyAske...tions_TWRA.htm
Possession limit, daily creel limit, and ?afield? explained:

*Even in a freezer at home or at a temporary residence,
one can never possess more than twice the daily creel.

*Daily creel limits run from midnight to midnight.

*One cannot have more then one daily limit while "afield".

[mybentrod]

And that's the rest of the story. Thanks Boone. I knew there was something more than what I understood. I understand only KY laws and have been raised thinking that was "the bible". EXTREMELY poor law IMO. Boone has Spoken!!! Lol. Thanks again.

[Dave Stewart]

You still can't go out and catch game fish and sell them...unless you have a commercial fishing license and you in compliance with all commercial fishing regulations. When you catch a fish and sell it for profit, that is commercial fishing....so before you decide to start selling off what you have in your freezer, you better check the rules and regulations for commercial fishing.

[artcarney_agr]

Text can be misleading and misinterpreted... Especially on this board, but I get the notion you have a background in law enforcement Art?

I have a couple of fraternity brothers who have careers in fish and wildlife enforcement. One is with the US Fish and Wildlife and just completed a couple years stay in Puerto Rico doing some really cool stuff with enforcement on a refuge down there - the nature of his work crossed paths with drug enforcement as well. He pretty much has his choice of duty now stateside. The other completed a couple of years doing research in Alaska monitoring the commercial fishing industry for crab and scallops. He was on the kind of boats that you see on Deadliest Catch. His data sets the season and limits for the following year. Upon completion of that he took a job with the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife about a year and a half ago and gets paid to go fishing every day mainly to monitor the Redfish population. He was swamped with work this year with the oil spill, both monitoring the status of marshes and conducting media tours and updates. He's pretty much had most of the month of December off due to the amount of overtime he accumulated. He had some pretty amazing stories this year in the duck blind.

Between those two guys, I get a lot of the facts straight, for they write a lot of tickets and know the rules. They tell me what's usually heavily enforced, and what is not. Gray areas like the possession limit definition that varies state to state is not something heavily enforced, and as I stated previously, if a violation is easily handed out and can be made public, it will be done...scare tactic. The odds of someone actually taking time to follow you to your house and check your freezer are very slim unless they cite you for being over the limit in the field.

[Duayne]

BTW, I am really really positive that possesion limit is a limit you can keep while in the field. Like camping in the field. It does not apply to your home.

[Duayne]

Here is the definition straight from the KDFW FAQ

The daily creel limit is the number of particular sport fish species you may keep in one day’s fishing. A possession limit is the maximum number of sport fish a person may hold in the field after two or more days of fishing.

http://fw.ky.gov/fishingfaq.asp

[FlyLie]

Here is the definition straight from the KDFW FAQ

The daily creel limit is the number of particular sport fish species you may keep in one day’s fishing. A possession limit is the maximum number of sport fish a person may hold in the field after two or more days of fishing.

http://fw.ky.gov/fishingfaq.asp

Just to clarify, repeat and emphasise;

Kentucky regulation 301 KAR 1:201. states;
(7) "Possession limit" means the maximum number of unprocessed fish a person may hold after two (2) or more days of fishing.
(8) "Processed fish" means a fish that has been gutted and head removed.

[JoeB]

Possession limits apply to the field. No laws have been broken if you have 3 limits of fileted crappie in your home freezer. What's the big deal in this case? Allow game fish (or wildlife) to be sold for profit and there wont be a **** one left. Just ask the nearest passenger pigeon.