DEC and Genesee river enforcement

[rolmops]

DEC and Genesee river enforcement

Illegal Fishing on the Genesee River - Monroe County
On Oct. 23, ECOs Kevin Holzle, Eoin Snowdon, and Jeff Johnston responded to a complaint of fish being caught by "snagging" on the Genesee River at the lower falls in Rochester. From the Rt. 104 bridge upstream to the lower falls, the Genesee River is one of the Lake Ontario tributaries subject to seasonal regulations from Sept. 1 to March 31. After conducting surveillance from multiple viewpoints around the lower falls, ECOs Holzle and Johnston entered the gorge and met with several subjects. The ECOs issued a total of 15 tickets for a variety of violations, including fishing without a valid license, taking fish by snagging, and disposing of fish or parts of fish within 100 feet of shore, all returnable to the City of Rochester Court. Additionally, one subject was taken into custody on a warrant from the Town of Gates Police Department.
 

[Decoy Hound]

I’m sure the penalties won’t be much, but at least they caught them! I wish they would give them jail time and larger fines, maybe they would think twice about doing it again.

[rolmops]

8 minutes ago, Decoy Hound said:

I’m sure the penalties won’t be much, but at least they caught them! I wish they would give them jail time and larger fines, maybe they would think twice about doing it again.

I don't know, What I may laugh off can be a serious setback for less well to do people.

[Lucky13]

This is only one incident reported in the weekly Encon Reports from the DEC website.   The Monroe County Fisheries Advisory Board was updated last spring on planned enforcement activities, and has heard that significant efforts have been undertaken on the Genesee, but these tickets had not reached the docket as of last month.  I would anticipate that we should hear a report on this at the SOL meeting next year.

 

If these efforts are to be successful, the District Attorney needs to also be involved in insuring that the violations are viewed as serious.   One thing we could all do toward that happening is to communicate with our representatives about the need to update the fine structures for these offenses.  There is little incentive for someone coming from out of state to purchase a license if the fine for fishing without one is $25.00, and the cost of the NR license is $50.00, or 28.00 for a 7 day.  Littering fines should also go up, these schedules were often set back when you could buy a new car for under 2K.  The City of Rochester also commented that it is a violation of City code to be on the Maplewood side of the river, that area is posted as off limits from the top, and we may see more City of Rochester Police Department  enforcement of the trespass regulation, which would alleviate a lot of the commercial "fishing"  up under the falls.

[jlogger]

Does anyone know what happened to the people that poached those 60 or 70 something salmon from Burt Dam last year? I think it was Burt dam. If I remember correct, they were Russians. Last I heard there was a court date scheduled but I never heard what the result was.

[pikefreak]

I was down there multiple times this year and the DEC was there every time. This is the most I've seen them there in years. Just they're presence helps but definitely would like to see people get hefty fines especially the Russians because the guys don't give a damn and snag hundreds of fish a year.


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[ERABBIT]

What IF , the DEC had a place we/use could buy hats and coats , get a buddy or two and just stand around and look , at people fishing

[oraunlimited]

This is only one incident reported in the weekly Encon Reports from the DEC website.   The Monroe County Fisheries Advisory Board was updated last spring on planned enforcement activities, and has heard that significant efforts have been undertaken on the Genesee, but these tickets had not reached the docket as of last month.  I would anticipate that we should hear a report on this at the SOL meeting next year.
 
If these efforts are to be successful, the District Attorney needs to also be involved in insuring that the violations are viewed as serious.   One thing we could all do toward that happening is to communicate with our representatives about the need to update the fine structures for these offenses.  There is little incentive for someone coming from out of state to purchase a license if the fine for fishing without one is $25.00, and the cost of the NR license is $50.00, or 28.00 for a 7 day.  Littering fines should also go up, these schedules were often set back when you could buy a new car for under 2K.  The City of Rochester also commented that it is a violation of City code to be on the Maplewood side of the river, that area is posted as off limits from the top, and we may see more City of Rochester Police Department  enforcement of the trespass regulation, which would alleviate a lot of the commercial "fishing"  up under the falls.

I am pretty new to fishing the Rochester area and the maplewood side is confusing to me. If it is "off limits" why do they have fish disposal signs before you walk down?

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[Lucky13]

The Maplewood side of the river is the west bank.  I know there are disposal signs on the Seth Green side, but I have not been on the other side in years.  I know there were signs warning people that  access as not allowed on the West side, but they were pretty much ignored in the past.  But maybe the City is going to get serious considering the possible liabilities if someone falls off the path, and the bad eye the city gets from the broad daylight poaching going on on that side.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Lucky13