More aggressive enforcement.


"DMF and Environmental Police Raise the Stakes
Recreational and commercial permit sanctions increasingly used to stop poaching.

There is an alarming increase in illegal fishing activity in Massachusetts. Reasons include rebuilt stocks resulting in abundant schools of fish close to shore; increased fishing activity and participants allowing poachers and poaching to go unnoticed or unreported; a vast coastline for the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) to patrol; and sadly a poor conservation ethic among some commercial and recreational harvesters. These violations threaten the public welfare because they can have an indirect effect on the quotas of fish that the Commonwealth receives in futures years.
Many publicized violations have become high profile on social media and the talk of the waterfront. In turn, the conservation oriented majority of commercial and recreational fishermen are frustrated with the negative impacts poaching continues to have on particular stock health and future fishing quotas and limits. Supporters of strict adherence to the conservation and management regulations of DMF are demanding stronger measures for violations. In response, DMF and the MEP are seeking a number of remedial measures, including an increase in permit sanctions such as suspensions, revocations and non-renewals. The use of such remedial action is subject to the Commonwealth’s Administrative Procedures Act which establishes specific due process requirements in the form of an adjudicatory procedure to be conducted by agencies that issue permits they seek to suspend, revoke or not renew.
Adjudicatory proceedings are not a new approach. State, federal and municipal agencies that are authorized by legislature to issue permits are also authorized to revoke such permitting instances where the use of the permit is being abused by permit holders who violate applicable regulations. DMF has historically utilized this process to suspend, revoke and not renew commercial fishing permits as well as seafood dealer permits in response to egregious or repetitive violations. What is new is the number of adjudicatory proceedings that DMF is conducting and first-ever sanctions on recreational fishing permits—both individual anglers and for-hire boats.

Whereas prior years included only a handful of hearings annually to address commercial fishery violations, this past year DMF has conducted 15 adjudicatory proceedings for recreational and commercial fishing permits for violations of fishery regulations.

To sanction a commercial, recreational or seafood dealer permit, DMF is required to comply with strict legal requirements such as adequate notice of the alleged violation; a full and fair evidentiary hearing before an impartial magistrate; the use of witness testimony and documentary evidence; the right to cross-examination; the accused’s right to retain counsel to challenge and contest the alleged violations and present their own evidence and defenses; conferencing of the parties to reach a partial or full settlement of the alleged violations; opportunity to provide written comments to the magistrate’s tentative decision; a final decision made by the Director based on the administrative record of the proceedings and the magistrates final recommended decision; and the right to judicial review of permit sanctions, if any, taken by the Director.
Recreational and commercial poaching comes in many forms and no fishery is exempt. Last year there was an unprecedented mid-summer striped bass blitz along the Cape Cod Canal. This produced incredible catches, as well as infamous levels of poaching. Many citations were issued for anglers taking more than the 1-fish per day recreational limit. Additionally, commercial fishermen were cited for exceeding commercial limits, fishing commercially on closed fishing days, and not clipping the fins of their recreational catch.
Some of the perpetrators were blatant in their concealing of fish and lying to officers about their catch. For 2017 violations, five anglers have had their recreational fishing permits suspended for one to three years. Two of the five also held a commercial permit and those permits were suspended as well. This is in addition to several commercial permit suspensions and revocations for striped bass violations over the past several years.


Exasperated by this unwillingness or inability to comply with marine fisheries regulations, DMF and the Environmental Police have successfully revoked numerous recreational and commercial permits, for violating regulations the permit holder had agreed to comply with as a condition of their permit. DMF is, essentially, taking back the permits that it has issued to individuals who use them to poach. We expect these sanctions will serve as deterrents to poaching but may only be the first of many steps necessary to improve the conservation ethic among Massachusetts fishermen.
By Dan McKiernan, Deputy Director
DMF also maintains a website for its Administrative Law Section. The pages on this site provide the public with more information regarding the Administrative Law Section’s work and how adjudicatory hearings are conducted. It serves as a repository of final decisions, dating back to 2010.