Officers Catch Striped Bass Poachers in Cambridge

Dorchester County, MD - Maryland Natural Resources Police officers were on routine patrol in Cambridge on August 22. They came across a group loading a boat onto a trailer at a public ramp that leads to the Choptank River.

Officers stopped to do a routine check of the boat. Inside, they noticed coolers and buckets filled with fish.

A closer look turned up six striped bass. Officers also found 13 undersized male blue crabs and 10 female blue crabs.

Three people were on scene when officers made the discovery. They were a 29-year-old man from Silver Spring, a 31-year-old woman from Hyattsville, Maryland and a 40-year-old man from Brentwood, Maryland.

All three told officers they knew striped bass could not be caught or kept during the August closure. Despite that, they had the fish in their possession anyway.

Officers issued citations to the group for several violations. These included illegal possession of striped bass, targeting striped bass out of season, keeping undersized blue crabs, and having female crabs in their possession.

The blue crabs were released back into the Choptank River unharmed.

The striped bass could not be saved, so they were donated to the aviary at Tuckahoe State Park.

The August closure on striped bass is meant to protect the species during a sensitive time of year. Maryland Natural Resources Police continue to patrol local waterways to catch violations like this one.