Eight people in Middletown were cited for fisheries violations after officers confirmed that undersized black sea bass and tautog had been taken along the shoreline. Environmental police issued $2,700 in citations after reviewing surveillance video tied to a Sunday report.
The case began when officers received a complaint about several people taking undersized fish. Responding officers checked the footage and found two groups in violation of fishing regulations. Together, they had 67 tautog, including 53 undersized fish, and 10 black sea bass, including six undersized fish.
The citations covered fishing without a license, possession of over limit tautog, possession of undersized tautog and possession of undersized black sea bass. That mix matters because the catch count was larger than the number of undersized fish alone, which meant the violations went beyond size limits and into license and bag-limit rules as well.
The illegally caught fish was donated to Congress of the Birds to feed animals undergoing rehabilitation. The Rhode Island Environmental Police Officers Association said concerned fishermen should report violations right away to DEM’s 24/7 Dispatch at 222-3070, and thanked the person who first reported the shoreline activity. What remains unclear is which of the eight people received which citation, but the enforcement action itself was already complete by the time the fish were handed over.
