New York State DEC Seizes 97 Illegally Taken Fish

New York state has some of the most diverse fishing areas in the U.S. given its proximity to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as many other fishing areas. Fishing Booker says that the bulk of fishing season in the state takes place between May and November, for both in salt and freshwater.

But there's a few things you have to remember before attempt your next big catch.

New York State DEC Statistics

The New York DEC website says that in 2023, DEC Forest Rangers conducted 370 search and rescue missions, extinguished 146 wildfires covering nearly 1,400 acres, participated in 52 prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate more than 1,000 acres of land, and worked on cases that resulted in hundreds of tickets and arrests.

New York State DEC Seizes 97 Illegally Taken Fish

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says that one of their officers worked a joint enforcement detail with the National Park Service on the Delaware River in Orange and Sullivan counties.

The DEC states that they received a call for assistance from NPS Rangers who stopped a group of ten individuals with undersized fish, spear guns, and diving equipment in the town of Lumberland, Sullivan County. The Officers determined after a brief interview that several individuals within the group used spear guns to unlawfully take fish.

Additionally, the DEC says that only two individuals had freshwater fishing licenses as required in New York. Officers seized ninety-seven illegally taken fish and issued a total of 12 tickets for offenses including taking undersized fish, illegal possession of fish, taking fish by means other than angling, fishing without a freshwater fishing license, and depositing refuse along a highway.

The case is pending further enforcement upon review of electronic evidence retrieved from the location. The DEC says that officers issued 18 total tickets for the daylong detail.