3 arrested after illegal fishing investigation on SC coast. How they were caught.
BY KARL PUCKETT
AUGUST 14, 2021 11:16 AM
They allegedly fished at night, then sold their undersized flounder to a food truck and restaurants in Bluffton and Hilton Head. What they did not know is that officers with the Department of Natural Resources were watching.
In the early morning hours of July 10, at Alljoy Boat Landing in Bluffton, SCDNR officers arrested three men in connection with the illegal harvest and sale of flounder and other finfish, including tripletail, sheepshead and red drum.
Forty-two fish were seized, including thirty-three undersized flounder.
South Carolina laws prohibit commercial fishermen from keeping and harvesting fish under a certain size. And the arrests come as the state beefs up fishing rules in an effort to protect declining flounder populations.
The SCDNR says the three men were taking fish by gigging at night, which is a common method of fishing for flounder.
In addition, three people tied to two restaurants and a food truck that purchased the illegal and undersized fish have been charged. Some of the restaurants specifically requested undersized flounder, so that the fish would better “fit on a plate” when prepared whole, SCDNR officers learned.
“SCDNR views the illegal harvesting and commercialization of our state’s resources as a violation against all South Carolina residents,” said the agency’s Deputy Director for Law Enforcement, Col. Chisolm Frampton.
The arrests and charges followed a three-month investigation that began in April, the SCDNR announced Friday.
The goal was to “disrupt the illegal take and sale of adulterated flounder and other finfish in South Carolina so that legal flounder gigging can be preserved for future generations,” SCDNR First Sgt. for Beaufort County, Adam Henderson, said in a statement.
Arrested at the landing were James Wooten, 33, Dawson Loper, 21, both of Bluffton, and David Festerman, 32, of Griffen, Ga.
Six individuals have been charges following an investigation into illegal harvesting and sale of flounder and other species of fish in Beaufort County. SCDNR
The arrests followed weeks of intensive surveillance, the SCDNR said. Festerman was assisting the two men on the night of the arrests, the agency said.
Wooten faces 21 counts of harvesting undersized flounder; 21 counts of harvesting over the limit of flounder; one count of harvesting undersized tripletail; nine counts of selling fish with no commercial wholesale dealer’s license; two counts of having no commercial fishing license; and a boating equipment-related charge and two charges of driving under suspension.
Loper was cited for six counts of undersized flounder; one count each of over-the limit of flounder and undersized tripletail; and one count each of improper display of commercial decal on boat, no outboard motor decal, and insufficient PFDs on board.
Festerman was charged with four counts of having undersized flounder and one count of having no saltwater fishing license.
Under South Carolina law, individuals who knowingly purchase seafood from an unlicensed source can also be charged.
Fish seized in Bluffton that the SCDNR says were harvested and sold illegally. SCDNR
Evidence implicated staff at Hudson’s Seafood House and ELA’s on the Water restaurants on Hilton Head Island, and the Maiz Taqueria Food Truck in Bluffton, the SCDNR said.
Maiz Taqueria owner Isaac Jimenez was cited for one count each of unlawful purchase of saltwater fisheries product, having no proper bill of lading and having no wholesale dealer’s license. Earl Nightingale Jr., the owner of ELA’s, was charged with two counts of unlawful purchase of saltwater fisheries products. Hudson’s Chef Eric Seaglund was charged with one count of unlawful purchase of a saltwater fishery product, and one count each of possessing undersized tripletail and undersized flounder.
FLOUNDER POPULATIONS DECLINING
Flounder populations along the East Coast, including in South Carolina waters, have seen marked declines recently, the SCDNR said.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers, at the urging of SCDNR fisheries biologists, passed more stringent regulations for flounder taken in state waters, limiting the number caught by any method, to 5 per person, per day (or 10 per boat) and increasing the minimum legal size for “keeper” fish to 16 inches.
Those stricter harvest limits for flounder went into effect July 1. Even under the previous limit of a minimum of 15 inches, many of the flounder that the men were charged with in this case would have been considered undersized, the SCDNR said.
“It’s a critical time for our flounder population, and curtailing this type of activity is essential for the recovery of this species,” said Lt. Andrew Godowns, SCDNR’s Law Enforcement supervisor for the coastal region south of Charleston.
Citizens with information to report about any type of wildlife or fisheries-related violation are encouraged to contact the SCDNR’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-922-5431 or via the SCDNR TIPS app. You do not have to reveal your identity.
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