Posted on 02/26/2007 6:25:02 PM PST by devane617
Max Mayfield, the former director of the National Hurricane Center, is under investigation by his former employer for possibly violating fishing laws.
Mayfield caught a 200-pound Goliath grouper while fishing with friends in the Gulf of Mexico a few days after his retirement Jan. 1. The boat captain and crew slid the grouper into the boat through a door in the back, unhooked it, snapped a few celebratory photos and slid it back into the water. It swam away.
Such photographs are common fare in fishing magazines, but since Goliath is protected species bringing one into the boat is illegal, even if just for a few minutes. Doing so can damage a protective slime the covers the fish.
Mayfield, 58, said Monday he had no idea he had done anything wrong until newspapers published a photo of the catch and someone complained to the National Marine Fisheries Service, a branch of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, which also oversees the National Hurricane Center.
“I love to fish, but I haven’t done any in a long time. I don’t know the rules,’’ Mayfield said. “Nobody on that boat knew the rules.’’
Tracey Dunn, who oversees federal fishing enforcement in Florida, declined to discuss specifics of Maxwell’s grouper because it is under review by the fisheries service general counsel.
Sanctions can range from a written reprimand to a civil fine.
Though lack of knowledge about rules is not a defense, Dunn said, federal agents often focus their investigation more on a boat captain, or other experienced fishermen rather than on an inexperienced client.
The boat in question was the 34-foot Bud&Mary, owned and captained by Richard Stanczyk, who operates a marina in Islamorada. He says he has fished the Keys for 29 years and never heard that putting a Goliath temporarily in the boat is illegal.
Stanczyk holds a charter captain’s license but said he rarely takes out clients. Mayfield is a friend, Stanczyk said, and the trip was for fun, not hire. Mayfield’s son and three others also went along. Mayfield tied into the Goliath west of Key West.
“My boat has a tuna door in the back. When you open it, you can slide the fish through,’’ Stanczyk said. “He was laying in water. We took a few hooks out of him and let him go in better shape than when we found him.’’
Stanczyk said he is embarrassed for Mayfield, a familiar face for years as he interpreted storm data on national television from the hurricane center.
“A great debt is owed to him.’’ Stanczyk said. “For those of us living in the Keys, we live and die with hurricanes approaching and we relied on him.’’
Ping!
We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done, yet.
" the National Hurricane Center, is under investigation by his former employer for possibly violating fishing laws."
The NHC investigates improper fishing? Why?
well the good news is that with the amount of data being captured/recorded/stored now, once technology allows searching of available archives for selected offenses, we can be indicted as needed at some point in the future!
That's a lot of grouper sandwiches!
International Criminal Court!!!
Haul'em ALL off in chains!/ sarcasm
It sure would make a ton of fishsticks.
This British tank held up nicely. I don't think any paint got scratched:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1787248/posts
British tank helps demolish city house
There is nothing illegal about catch, photo and release. The law states they must be released alive. Must be someone who doesn't agree with Max's global warming stand, he says it's rubbish.
These fish are a real nuisance and need to be fished back to a level of sustainability. Ever since they were assigned protected status and began to grow huge the problem has swelled. It is now to the point that any fish hooked off an inshore wreck gets eaten by these monsters. Good intentions gone really bad.
Regulations would have been a far better answer to the low populations. They are now considering opening the season for hook and line take.
The reason they were "protected" is because divers were bang sticking them, umm, yes, I did it too, they are easy targets since they fear nothing. Yes it was legal to do, back then. You could swim right up to them and "bang", huge catch, really good eating those Jewfish are. Jewfish is their politically incorrect name, probably for the last 200 years before someone complained. About what, no one knows.
I have hooked them well over 300 pounds, and caught plenty of smaller sized.
Yeah, figured it was something like that when they said it was his old agency. Sounded like a score being settled, can't imagine why the National Hurricane Center would suddenly be interested in fishing license enforcement...
FL's fishing laws have increased exponentially in the past decade. Shame.
Cool! Sort of like that blonde chick on FOXNews: Laurie Dhuefish.
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