surferman
09-01-2009, 12:34 PM
these poachers sound like real losers.:burn:
Ocean County crabbers accused of stealing from rival’s traps
By MIKE JACCARINO Staff Writer, (609) 978-2010
Press of Atlantic City
Every profession has its cardinal rules that maintain order and continuity.
Journalists cannot make up information, Marines never leave a man behind, and in the world of crabbing, one crabber never steals another crabber's crabs or traps.
Three local commercial crabbers - two lifelong practitioners of the trade - violated that rule, according to the New Jersey State Police.
Edward Lawrence Tonnesen, 68, his son Edward James Tonnesen, 41, and John Ruthven, 27, allegedly stole as many as 150 crab pots from other area commercial crabbers, the State Police said.
The alleged thefts occurred this year, but police - and crabbers - suspect the pattern predates this season.
Every commercial crabber is lawfully allowed 400 traps, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fish and Wildlife unit said.
State Police said they saw all three men steal other crabbers' catch, and then return the traps to the water.
They were charged with theft and possession of stolen property in early August, Trooper Valentino Borelli said. The DEP has yet to lodge complaints, but it is expected to, authorities said.
On Monday, Larry Biersack, 60, Michael Ahearn, 42, and Richie Szelc, 40, all commercial crabbers who crab from Forked River to Little Egg Harbor and victims of the alleged thefts, discussed the feelings of betrayal that accompanied the acts.
Once, Biersack and Ahearn shared a solid friendship, but recent events changed that. Each was suspicious that the other stealing traps.
The two mostly crab near the Barnegat Inlet, while others tend traps in waters south of the spot. Neither suspected the Tonnesens.
"We were friends for years," Biersack said. "You fish next to each other and, right or wrong, he's the first one you look at."
Biersack, a Forked River resident who has commercially crabbed for 25 years, shook his head and looked at Ahearn.
Biersack, Ahearn and Szelc were at the state Fish and Wildlife station in Port Republic on Monday to identify missing equipment police recovered from the Tonnesens.
Afterward, Biersack and Ahearn spoke for the first time in two years.
Tim O'Mara, owner of Captain Mike's Marina off Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor, a crabbing hot spot, called staying away from other people's crab traps, "the cardinal rule."
As an avid crabber and a merchant who caters to recreational crabbers, O'Mara said he both professes the rule to others and heeds it himself.
"You know, it's funny," he said. "You see the rental boat guys pick up (traps) out of curiosity ... but you just don't do that. That could be someone's livelihood. That could be someone's dinner."
Crabbers leave large traps, often called crab pots, out overnight. They typically check the traps in the pre-dawn hours.
Edward James Tonnesen and John Ruthven, his mate, left at 1 a.m., Borrelli said. The elder Tonnesen left at 4 a.m. to check their traps.
For about a month, the State Police Marine Division had the Tonnesens under surveillance. Borrelli said he woke daily at 2 a.m. and parked at the end of the numerous roads that jut into the Barnegat, Manahawkin and Little Egg Harbor bays from the mainland.
One morning, just after dawn, Borrelli said he saw the elder Tonnesen take crabs from another crabber's pot. Days later, Borelli said he observed the younger Tonnesen do the same, and take the trap.
After a check, traps are left unwatched until the next morning, making trust essential to the trade, crabbers said.
Ahearn called the sanctity of another crabber's traps, the "No. 1 rule."
Theft of traps "is always in the back of your mind ... when you start out," Biersack said. "You worry a lot."
Ahearn admitted that he was, "obsessed years ago," about the theft of his traps. Early on, the Waretown resident said he "used to watch (his traps) a lot" to prevent theft, after making his daily rounds of the traps.
Stiffer penalties and experience have lessened his fears, Ahearn said, but he still thinks about it. The typical commercial crab trap sells for about $30.
The sense of betrayal is keenly felt in Szelc's statement for The Press.
He said he once shared a strong friendship with the younger Tonnesen, who served in his wedding.
"There was a time when I considered him one of my closest friends, but now I realize that was just a ploy to steal my living away from me," Szelc wrote in his statement.
It's not the first time authorities have cited the elder Tonnesen. Since 1997, he has paid $4,240 in fines for five violations, including taking undersized crabs, using illegal traps, and, twice in 1997, tampering with another's gear, Fish and Wildlife officials reported.
Details of the 1997 incidents were not available, and the elder Tonnesen, reached at what police described as his base, Tony's Bait and Tackle Shop in Manahawkin, declined to comment. Attempts to reach the younger Tonnesen were unsuccessful.
The accused have not been arraigned, State Police said. They have resumed crabbing, Borelli added.
In his statement, Szelc wrote, "This was an act of bone deep greed and no punishment could be too severe. I hope Eddie and (Ruthven) are thrown in jail where they belong."
Hard words, he added, for crabbers who allegedly broke the trade's cardinal rule.
Ocean County crabbers accused of stealing from rival’s traps
By MIKE JACCARINO Staff Writer, (609) 978-2010
Press of Atlantic City
Every profession has its cardinal rules that maintain order and continuity.
Journalists cannot make up information, Marines never leave a man behind, and in the world of crabbing, one crabber never steals another crabber's crabs or traps.
Three local commercial crabbers - two lifelong practitioners of the trade - violated that rule, according to the New Jersey State Police.
Edward Lawrence Tonnesen, 68, his son Edward James Tonnesen, 41, and John Ruthven, 27, allegedly stole as many as 150 crab pots from other area commercial crabbers, the State Police said.
The alleged thefts occurred this year, but police - and crabbers - suspect the pattern predates this season.
Every commercial crabber is lawfully allowed 400 traps, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fish and Wildlife unit said.
State Police said they saw all three men steal other crabbers' catch, and then return the traps to the water.
They were charged with theft and possession of stolen property in early August, Trooper Valentino Borelli said. The DEP has yet to lodge complaints, but it is expected to, authorities said.
On Monday, Larry Biersack, 60, Michael Ahearn, 42, and Richie Szelc, 40, all commercial crabbers who crab from Forked River to Little Egg Harbor and victims of the alleged thefts, discussed the feelings of betrayal that accompanied the acts.
Once, Biersack and Ahearn shared a solid friendship, but recent events changed that. Each was suspicious that the other stealing traps.
The two mostly crab near the Barnegat Inlet, while others tend traps in waters south of the spot. Neither suspected the Tonnesens.
"We were friends for years," Biersack said. "You fish next to each other and, right or wrong, he's the first one you look at."
Biersack, a Forked River resident who has commercially crabbed for 25 years, shook his head and looked at Ahearn.
Biersack, Ahearn and Szelc were at the state Fish and Wildlife station in Port Republic on Monday to identify missing equipment police recovered from the Tonnesens.
Afterward, Biersack and Ahearn spoke for the first time in two years.
Tim O'Mara, owner of Captain Mike's Marina off Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor, a crabbing hot spot, called staying away from other people's crab traps, "the cardinal rule."
As an avid crabber and a merchant who caters to recreational crabbers, O'Mara said he both professes the rule to others and heeds it himself.
"You know, it's funny," he said. "You see the rental boat guys pick up (traps) out of curiosity ... but you just don't do that. That could be someone's livelihood. That could be someone's dinner."
Crabbers leave large traps, often called crab pots, out overnight. They typically check the traps in the pre-dawn hours.
Edward James Tonnesen and John Ruthven, his mate, left at 1 a.m., Borrelli said. The elder Tonnesen left at 4 a.m. to check their traps.
For about a month, the State Police Marine Division had the Tonnesens under surveillance. Borrelli said he woke daily at 2 a.m. and parked at the end of the numerous roads that jut into the Barnegat, Manahawkin and Little Egg Harbor bays from the mainland.
One morning, just after dawn, Borrelli said he saw the elder Tonnesen take crabs from another crabber's pot. Days later, Borelli said he observed the younger Tonnesen do the same, and take the trap.
After a check, traps are left unwatched until the next morning, making trust essential to the trade, crabbers said.
Ahearn called the sanctity of another crabber's traps, the "No. 1 rule."
Theft of traps "is always in the back of your mind ... when you start out," Biersack said. "You worry a lot."
Ahearn admitted that he was, "obsessed years ago," about the theft of his traps. Early on, the Waretown resident said he "used to watch (his traps) a lot" to prevent theft, after making his daily rounds of the traps.
Stiffer penalties and experience have lessened his fears, Ahearn said, but he still thinks about it. The typical commercial crab trap sells for about $30.
The sense of betrayal is keenly felt in Szelc's statement for The Press.
He said he once shared a strong friendship with the younger Tonnesen, who served in his wedding.
"There was a time when I considered him one of my closest friends, but now I realize that was just a ploy to steal my living away from me," Szelc wrote in his statement.
It's not the first time authorities have cited the elder Tonnesen. Since 1997, he has paid $4,240 in fines for five violations, including taking undersized crabs, using illegal traps, and, twice in 1997, tampering with another's gear, Fish and Wildlife officials reported.
Details of the 1997 incidents were not available, and the elder Tonnesen, reached at what police described as his base, Tony's Bait and Tackle Shop in Manahawkin, declined to comment. Attempts to reach the younger Tonnesen were unsuccessful.
The accused have not been arraigned, State Police said. They have resumed crabbing, Borelli added.
In his statement, Szelc wrote, "This was an act of bone deep greed and no punishment could be too severe. I hope Eddie and (Ruthven) are thrown in jail where they belong."
Hard words, he added, for crabbers who allegedly broke the trade's cardinal rule.