Government

Feds Confiscate Fisherman’s 881-Pound Bluefin Tuna…Worth Maybe $400k!

Fisherman Forced to Give Up 800 Pound Tuna to NOAA | Carlos Rafael

Carlos Rafael is living a 21st century rendition of Hemmingway’s classic “The Old Man and the Sea,” the Cape Cod Times notes, except in this case the sea is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement.

Fisherman Forced to Give Up 800 Pound Tuna to NOAA | Carlos Rafael

After the crew on a boat Rafael owns captured a giant bluefin tuna in the waters near Cape Cod, Rafael hoped to the sell the fish and perhaps net a something similar to the $396,000 that a 745-pound specimen sold for at an auction in Tokyo back in January. Rafael’s catch was 881 pounds.

However, the Times reports that Rafael received a rude awakening when his boat sought shelter in Provincetown Harbor on November 12:

“The authorities were waiting. Agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement informed him they were confis­cating his fish — all 881 pounds of it.

Even though the catch had been declared and the boat had a tuna permit, the rules do not allow fishermen to catch bluefin tuna in a net.

‘They said it had to be caught with rod and reel,’ a frustrated Rafael said. ‘We didn’t try to hide anything. We did everything by the book. Nobody ever told me we couldn’t catch it with a net.”

In any case, after being towed for more than two hours in the net, the fish was already dead when the Apollo hauled back its gear, he said.”

Rafael told the Times that he purchased 15 tuna permits for his groundfish boats over the last four years and immediately called a bluefin tuna hot line maintained by fishery regu­lators to report the catch when it happened. Rafael’s crew had unwittingly captured the giant tuna in their trawl gear rather than rod and reel.

Fisherman Forced to Give Up 800 Pound Tuna to NOAA | Carlos Rafael

“What are we supposed to do?” Rafael told the Times. “I think I’m going to surrender all my tuna permits now. What good are they if I can’t catch them?”

A public affairs specialist with NOAA told the Times that the fish has been forfeited and will be sold on consignment overseas. Proceeds from the sale of the fish will be held in an account pending final resolution of the case, NOAA said.

Rafael has expressed concerns in the past over the impact of governmental regulation on small business.  Take a look at this video from just last year:

 

 

Comments (177)

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  • Cabo King
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:53pm

    sure let the Feds do whatever, this is the USSR right

    Report Post » Cabo King  
    • chips1
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:13pm

      The money will probably go to BO’s re-election campaign. He gets most of his donations from Tainted-tuna.

      Report Post »  
    • cessna152
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:26pm

      Something fishy going on here!! I think the Fed is rotten to the “alba-CORE”…..

      Report Post » cessna152  
    • db321
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:13pm

      Thank God Congress did not cut the budget of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office. America needs more Regulation, Laws and more government agencies – they are only protecting us from ourselves – soon we will be broke as a Nation and we all need to learn that doing thing American’s once enjoy is a thing of the past. Enjoy Socialism – only the political elite will be able to catch Blue Fin Tuna – not us lowly US Citizens.

      Report Post » db321  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:39pm

      this is just dumb… why were they waiting for them when they arrived? how did THAT happen?! has anyone even wondered that?

      Report Post »  
    • BlazingPatriot
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:58pm

      Sorry Charlie! Only good tasting tuna get to be Starkist!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaU5I_UQbXQ

      Report Post » BlazingPatriot  
    • turkey13
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:00pm

      This is happining to all the small miners out in the western states. A $10.00 permit is now $140.00 and in California you can no longer even get dredging permits – 2nd year. We usually spend about $15,000.00 out there and usually don’t even break even – but Alaska isn’t too proud to take your money. This is a green tree hugger event – but we usually took out about 3 ounces of Mercury . This was mercury left over from the 1800′s and came out of our panning the black sand. Oh well I just try not to eat salmon from California.

      Report Post »  
    • turkey13
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:10pm

      If the feds feel the law ani‘t fair just change it and don’t tell anyone. Or do like they did 4 years ago when they want’ed to stop a new mine from opening up in Arizona. They said it would do in the endangered Kangroo rat. Later it was found to be true but lo and behold across the mountains there were over a million of them.

      Report Post »  
    • V-MAN MACE
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:38pm

      Tyranny and piratry.

      Teach a man to catch a fish, license a man to catch a fish, then…take the man’s fish.

      Utterly criminal.

      Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
    • RossPoldark
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 10:08pm

      The money will go to another Oduma bailout no doubt.

      Report Post »  
    • korbin
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 11:28pm

      Come on people wake the fu c k up. AGENDA 21 is alive and prospering thanks to us all being blind and lazy. Watch the video on this web site. This lady is a lefty poster child, lesbian, tree hugger, democrat etc etc, however she is one of the few lefty free thinkers. She is a 30myear current California transportation worker and is against agenda 21.
      here is her web site, if I am amazed at a lefty you should, watch and learn
      democratsagainstagenda21.com Please you won’t regret it.

      Report Post »  
    • ChiefGeorge
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 12:29am

      The feds are going to work themselves right out of paying jobs because the tax payer will be broke as a Hobo.

      Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 2:16am

      Michele will be eating Tuna Steaks for ThanksGiving…. for free, of course. Sorry, I meant at the cost of the tax payer. After all, we tax payers pay for the NOAA employees that took the Tuna don’t we.

      Report Post » The-Monk  
    • Young Patriot
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 4:36am

      WOAH WOAH WOAH. Are you guys seriously defending this guy? Read the story. This guy is a trawler.
      He drags a huge net through the water and drags is along the bottom of the ocean catching anything that gets in its way. Thats how he caught this tuna. And Federal law states, as it should that tuna cannot be caught in this fashion because TRAWLERS KILL THE OCEAN. So here is this guy who owns multiple trawlers, oh im sorry the story nicely said “groundfish boats” so most people wouldn’t know what he was talking about. Sorry this is a rant but i have been commercial fishing for the last 4 years in alaska. I troll not trawl for salmon and i have learned so much about the commercial fishing industry, while i learned how much i didn’t know it astounded me. This guy is a millionaire. I can promise you that he knew the rules, he thought he could get away with something. They tell you when you buy your permit and he had multiple. Thats why people who catch tuna legally commercially they go out and catch them with each individual hook, and then they throw them in a pen and fatten them up. Big difference, big big difference.

      Report Post » Young Patriot  
    • RichNGadsden
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 7:23am

      Of those 15 Tuna Permits that he attained over the years, I’m sure that none of them were by any means cheap. One would think that flyer with the laws, rules, and regulations could be handed out with each permit. It’s like a bait and switch, but on a federal level. This nations is so over regulated, that we are beyond living by “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

      Report Post » RichNGadsden  
    • Eliasim
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 7:57am

      It’s just an example of how they are going to steal things away from the average American in the near future.

      Report Post »  
    • tmcmaster
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:26am

      It is time for a revolution… It really is…

      Report Post » tmcmaster  
    • mikem1969
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:42am

      More evidence of over-regulation from the freaking government. Time for the fed to go the way of the dinosaur.

      Report Post »  
    • wbedding
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:05am

      i see a pattern here…GIbson Guitar, et al. i’ll bet this guy is a Republican. wouldn’t surprise me. and to think that shrill on CNBC actually said Obama had decreased the number of regulations on Americans.

      lie #1,345,654

      Report Post » wbedding  
    • Unix
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:15am

      Screw noaa and the feds on this one…this is just legal theft IMHO…just dont report the catches any more, sell on the black market, screw the communist fed

      Report Post » Unix  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 12:32pm

      we have to remember that we are back to the 13th century. The animals of the land and sea belong to the King. Not to people.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
  • NOBALONEY
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:52pm

    Tuna steaks at the White House menu!

    Report Post » NOBALONEY  
  • atrain
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:51pm

    I despise the federal government, but they are right on this one.

    Report Post »  
    • Jezcruzen
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:18pm

      Yep. Ol Raphael should have read the regs. There are only two boats operating in US waters that are licensed to catch blue fin with nets. Everyone else must us rod & reel. I just hope that tuna doesn’t end up in the dump! Others have.

      Report Post »  
    • hidden_lion
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:27pm

      Feds are never right, a catch is a catch. The rules are bs, plain and simple.

      Report Post » hidden_lion  
    • hugecatfish
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:45pm

      I call BS. What’s next, I get a warning next time a deer runs out in front of me on the highway. Afterall, you’re only supposed to shoot them with a gun legal for the season, right. This is simple fed over-reach, continuing to show that they have power over us wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

      Report Post » hugecatfish  
    • USAqh
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:52pm

      NOAA is right ONLY if the law is a common sense law. What is the reasoning behind the rod and reel vs a net catch law and permitting? Why are two boats more ‘deserving’ of a net catch allowance over all the other boats? What is the real reason behind the law? The whole thing REEKS of favortism and meddling by the all mighty government … in other words it STINKS …

      USAqh  
    • texanpatriot
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:54pm

      If anyone in the media dug down they would find the regs are written to favor a big donor to someone. Since I don’t think anyone in the media cares then we can just assume that this is business as usual. The owner lost something like $400K on this one fish.
      We the People no longer fun the government – they have been bought.

      TEA

      Report Post » texanpatriot  
    • SgtE5Jr
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 8:43pm

      The man even said that it was caught BY ACCIDENT! He wasnt TRYING to catch it. If he wasn’t an honest man he would be enjoying the frying of that fish right now. And the fact that the Gov’t is going to take it and sell it OVERSEAS is another thing. C’mon people, The man caught a fish….oh wait HE WAS FISHING!!!!

      Report Post » SgtE5Jr  
    • UrbanCombatSurvivor
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 10:58pm

      Please, PLEASE explain how you the the feds are “right”here?

      You actually BELIEVE it’s ok to determine that you need a license to fish in the first place. Further, you believe that saying you can catch a fish in a net, but not THIS fish, which has to be caught on a hook? I’d love to see a logical explanation on this.

       
    • Carter John
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:14am

      It was an accident, you can’t see what you have when you trawl a net. It was two hours later when they reeled in the net that they discovered the fish. Then the guy called it in like he was supposed to do, but guess what. NOAA were there waiting for their next paycheck. Then they have the gall to say they’re selling it overseas. Can someone please tell me what NOAA’s purpose is anyways?

      Report Post » Carter John  
  • ColoradoMaverick
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:50pm

    The feds need to start enforcing immigration laws and leave the fishermen alone.

    Report Post » ColoradoMaverick  
  • Pokerjoe
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:50pm

    Net or no net. The gov sells the fish get the $$$$$ The fisherman gets nothing. Its a steal.

    Report Post »  
    • brianmoc
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:57pm

      hope they take fishermen s boat for cheating and use it to catch more cheats.

      Report Post » brianmoc  
  • perry1980
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:41pm

    The Tax Man.
    1 for you 19 for me…..

    Report Post »  
  • so3
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:40pm

    IT”S HEMINGWAY, NOT HEMMINGWAY!!!!!! I’d be willing to bet much money the author of this piece has never read The Old Man and the Sea. The antagonist was not the sea you fool, the correct comparison would be to the sharks, not the sea. Good grief….

    Report Post »  
    • MinnesotaMARINE
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:14pm

      I hate f.u.c.k.e.r.s. that pick on spelling like this. So superior as to imply that the only way to judge intelligent is by ones spelling knowledge. You sir are an ASS.

      Report Post » MinnesotaMARINE  
    • chips1
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:23pm

      Punctuation is more than just a period. You must have been my Drill Sergeant. Does 1966 bring back memories? It took 49 years, but, “GOT YOU”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • toomuchgovt
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:15pm

      Typical liberal, try to shut someone up, by attempting to embarrassing them. Well I don’t really care, I get the picture of what the writer was conveying. You are arrogant.

      Report Post » toomuchgovt  
    • SgtB
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:40pm

      @ Minnesota Marine

      I think you meant intelligence.

      From,

      Oklahoma Marine

      P.S.
      The only Marine I knew from your state was a POS who aws NJP’d 4 times before he arrived in the fleet and barely kept from rocking out of his MOS. I’m not saying that you are him or his equivalent, just saying that in my mind your state has a bad track record.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • hugecatfish
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:50pm

      Hey Minnesotamarine, that would be INTELLIGENCE.

      Report Post » hugecatfish  
    • so3
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:56pm

      First off girls I’m not liberal. It’s funny that you A$$ume that just because I give a rip about accuracy both in spelling and in understanding one of the most iconic novellas ever written. The point, you fools, is that had the tables been turned and someone on MSNBC misinterpreted one of YOUR favorite pieces of literature you would have been all over it. What’s pathetic is that you harbor the same double-standard you accuse the media of having.

      Secondly: If I misspell something on a post, I don’t care because I type with two fingers and I do not edit. However, when you publish online you are both edited and more importantly PAID for your work. If you cannot understand the difference you need to re-visit elementary school. And yes, understanding the comparisons you make is important. It is not a liberal trait.

      Report Post »  
    • Starkadder
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 3:06am

      “(1)First off girls I’m not liberal. (2)It’s funny that you A$$ume that just because I give a rip about accuracy both in spelling and in understanding one of the most iconic novellas ever written. (3)The point, you fools, is that had the tables been turned and someone on MSNBC misinterpreted one of YOUR favorite pieces of literature you would have been all over it.(4) What’s pathetic is that you harbor the same double-standard you accuse the media of having. ”

      Sentence #1 Denies being a liberal.

      #2 Insults in condescending manner while attempting flaunt some sort of self assured intellectual superiority.

      #3 Makes the exact intellectual mistake he accuses others of by A$$uming they are conservative while also adding another insult, then actually admits to being a liberal by using a tables turned metaphor and specifically mentioning MSNBC. (tables turned meaning he must find this site as repulsive as a conservative finds MSNBC)

      #4 Looking down upon and pitying the poor uneducated masses who just simply arent enlightened while simultaneously accusing them of the very same bias that is unquestionably demonstrated in mainstream media. Also by using the first person term “you” clearly seperates him/her-self from the group (conservatives) they are attempting to impune.

      Not a Liberal huh? Had me fooled.
      If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck.
      Nobody A$$umed anything, we arrived at a logical conclusion.

      Report Post » Starkadder  
    • Starkadder
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 3:11am

      A logical conclusion.
      Try it sometime.

      Report Post » Starkadder  
    • Carter John
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 8:21am

      I thought the comments were to comment on the article which SO3 did. Not attack another person because they believe that a proper reference was in accurate. How many people have done this? A lot of us and you hate it when people shout out that your an idiot or something worse. SO3 defended themselves, as is her right.

      Report Post » Carter John  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:39pm

    He broke the law.. He cheated anyway.. He has 15 permits for 4 years and doesn’t know the rules? Now- If only the Feds would start enforcing Gun laws that already exist instead of seeking more Gun laws!

    Report Post » Ghandi was a Republican  
  • brianmoc
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:29pm

    The regulations are there for a good reason.!!! NO NET’S Blue Fin Tuna’s survivability is a must for the north Atlantic and I’m happy they where waiting at the dock for him! . Stripe Bass are on a massive decline once more because mid water trawlers and over fishing once more. Justintexas I here you but without rules these guys would kill every fish they could for a dolor!

    Here is how you catch a blue fin tuna! Rod and Reel

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LVe0K7z2v8 76” the limit this year was 74”

    This guy tried to sneak the fish in and ignored there rules! 10000$ + fine is two little.

    Report Post » brianmoc  
    • t00nces2
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:39pm

      What the heck is a “dolor”?

       
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:48pm

      It’s what happens to a dollar after Obama is finished with it.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • Jaxco
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:50pm

      You idiot – the tuna was caught by accident and it was DEAD by the time it got to the boat… No reason not to let him keep his catch – he called the bluefin hotline, had permits… If you idiot bastards had your way even the color of our socks would be regulated. Go to cuba you MORON.

      Report Post » Jaxco  
    • empowered
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:55pm

      Great video, thanks!

      Report Post »  
    • dr pepper
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:00pm

      He actually called the hotline once he realized he had it caught in his net. How do you think the NOAA knew he had the fish and were waiting for him. I guess he should have thrown the dead tuna back into the waters to feed the scavenger fish.

      Report Post »  
    • Raging Goose
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:09pm

      Who says the Stripers are on a decline, the PETA type tree huggers that now get to do the assessment? Most if not all of the current surveys being done or completed are garbage, the ones doing the work are the one’s that would shut down any and all types of fishing regardless if its commercial or a guy and his kid out for a good time.

      I’m very aware of whats happening in the industry, heck I have a video done a year or so ago of a guy who was making a film on the depletion of the sharks and half way through the project they realized that the info they had been given on sharks was all BS. They were told a certain specie in the Gulf was almost extinct and you couldnt find any and they found thousands without even trying. Typical left wing lunacy and by the way when that video was released a group came in and bought the distribution rights and it was never released in the USA, my copy came from the UK………. Nice!

      Raging Goose  
    • chips1
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:17pm

      A “DOLOR” is the New World Money.

      Report Post »  
    • bikerr
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:21pm

      @t00nces2—– Webster :Definition of DOLOR
      : mental suffering or anguish : grief ———–Kinda what we are suffering from with the Feds acting this way,However They did catch it in a net. Maybe the law was to prevent nets use and multiple tuna being caught.

      Report Post »  
    • BloodSweatandTears
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:31pm

      Rules rules and more rules. Take a good look at them. Are they for your protection? That could mean anything. Are they to hem you in? Limit your chances? Are they really “fair.’? Just saying…slip sliding away…

      Report Post »  
    • UrsaMajor
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 4:53am

      It’s called and ACCIDENT.

      An equitable scenary would be a truck or car hitting a Whitetail doe on any other day than “Doe Day” and having the government confiscating the body rather than allowing the driver of the car to keep it to feed his family in these harsh economic times.

      Why do you want little children to go hungry?

      Report Post »  
    • idarusskie
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 6:16am

      should have stuck a hook in its mouth when they brought it on board.

      Report Post »  
  • BandSpread
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:28pm

    Gee another government scam..The guy had several permits for blue fin tuna and they are telling him now that it had to be caught on rod and reel so his loss is over a half million dollars i just put up my hand and may i say to the government catch this. ,,!,,

    Report Post » BandSpread  
  • Ironmaan
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:27pm

    Kissinger: “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.”
    http://guerillatcs.com

    Report Post »  
    • RowdieGal
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:39pm

      Ironmaan, I was interested in your link but it didn’t work.

      Report Post » RowdieGal  
  • franko58
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:25pm

    Oh my God , “MOOCHELLE OBAMAS” dream come true 850 #’s of fine, beautiful, BLUE TUNA. Oh yea, right the goverment is going to auction it off! It’s going straight into “ MOOCHELLES FREEZER”. Lets see a receipt, lets see who the BIG BAD GOVERMENT, SOLD IT TO ! The goverment strikes again. FISHERMAN 0 – OBAMA – 850# BLUE TUNA. Only in communistically ran AMERICA.

    Report Post »  
  • eillem123
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:25pm

    Heck – if it really was an accident, he could‘ve always stuck a hook in the thing’s mouth! LOL!

    Report Post » eillem123  
  • NLenz
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:20pm

    ‘A public affairs specialist with NOAA told the Times that the fish has been forfeited and will be sold on consignment overseas.‘ So they’re going to sell rotten fish to some poor sucker overseas.

    Makes perfect nonsense to me.

    Report Post »  
  • grudgywoof
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:18pm

    The governments all thieves thay out to get r fish……..I bet he gets put in a FEMA camp. Hey Justintexas you ****** and the rest of you 911 truthers need to get a life. Better pack your bugout bags and head for the hills. You are all a bunch of scared children. Justintexas supports poachers!

    Report Post » grudgywoof  
  • empowered
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:14pm

    Having fished most of my life, and most of my ancesters and family members being commercial fisherman in the Northeast Atlantic, I believe the regulations are there for a good reason. As much as I hate big goverment, this particular regulation is not about goverment but about Blue Fin Tuna’s survivability. Just like limits on Stripe Bass massively restored the stock after being seriously depleted in the Atlantic, regulations were significantly loosened afterward. If fisherman can use nets for Bluefin, it would have a disastrous impact on the bluefin population. So use a Rod and Reel and work a bit harder for the catch. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for this fisherman, I think he knew the rules and ignored them. These guys are professional commercial fisherman and they are well aware of the regulations on the industry.

    Report Post »  
    • Obama Snake Oil Co
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:20pm

      I make the same observation as some of you, when did NOAA get law enforcement on wildlife and marine fisheries?

      Report Post » Obama Snake Oil Co  
    • shazam3
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:17pm

      When I was a kid, 50 years ago, in Maine the ONLY way you could catch these fish was rod and reel or trolling. As a kid you could make some good money trolling for them off a 12ft boat and 2/300ft of rope. I think the money was .05 cents a pound on the dock.

      Report Post »  
    • nueces
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 5:45pm

      You are absolutely correct. Bluefin Tuna are highly endangered. Only the very large ones (like the one in this story) are capable of breeding and should be protected. I despise tree huggers and big gubmint as much as anyone but fish and game laws must exist and must be enforced. I’m surprised at the abject stupidity being displayed on this site buy so called conservatives. Conservatives are supposed to be aware. Seems most here are fools.

      Report Post »  
    • Starkadder
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 3:20am

      If he knew the regulations and was deliberately cheating wouldn’t he just have stuck a hook in its mouth and made this a non-story?

      Report Post » Starkadder  
  • Pattondog
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:12pm

    should understand the fine print that says no net catching regardless of it being on accident. however some common sense here sell it on the market and give half to conservation and the catcher keeps half or give the fisherman keep some funds at min 15% and the rest goes to charity.

    Report Post »  
  • jakartaman
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:09pm

    The government are nothing more than thief’s.
    A hard working fisherman gets screwed by some lowly bureaucrats.
    Welcome to 1984 and big government
    2012 please hurry – We can’t hold on much longer
    of course you know this is Massachusetts
    The home of Fudgy Barney Frank and John the Lurch Kerry two upstanding congressmen

    Report Post »  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:08pm

    “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement??”

    Good God. Could we just call them “the tuna cops??”

    Report Post » KickinBack  
  • biohazard23
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:07pm

    That’s A LOT of sushi. Yummy, tasty, wasabi-coated sushi…….

    Report Post » biohazard23  
  • juststormy
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:05pm

    Hemingway (sp)

    Report Post » juststormy  
  • Steven63
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:05pm

    No doubt the Gub’mint will keep the proceeds.

    Report Post »  
  • Rick300
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:04pm

    Hmmm…seems a bit fishy…wonder how much in handling cost will be charged to Rafael if he wins his case?

    Report Post » Rick300  
  • grudgywoof
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:03pm

    Read the rules Captain. It says rod and reel not net. If he was such a reveared Captain he should have know that and he didn’t follow the rules. He‘s lucky they didn’t confiscate is boat and if I hunt deer with a rife durring bow season I would lose my bow, truck and four wheeler plus a big fine. Game rules are put in place for a reason (some better than others) but just like slot limits in my local trout stream it makes for a better fishery for everyone. The captain poached the fish end of story.

    Report Post » grudgywoof  
    • JustinTexas
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:08pm

      You must be retarded. When he brought the net in the fish was already dead. Is he supposed to stick his head in the water and ask the fish not to swim into his net in blue-finese? This administration is trying to put the fishing industry in this country out of business and the fishermen on welfare and foodstamps like they want all of us on.

      Report Post » JustinTexas  
    • grudgywoof
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:14pm

      Your the ****** you stupid uneducated redneck. If I hit a deer with my car and I want to harvest the meat or give it to a homeless shelter I have to call it in and have a state trooper check it in. It’s called rules you stupid rube!

      Report Post » grudgywoof  
    • COFemale
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:16pm

      yeah, we must bank on tricking a stupid blue tuna to bit a hook rather than be netted without having a choice. Tell me can our government be even more idiotic?

      Liberals are like men. Sometimes you can live with them, sometimes you can’t.

      Please Lord, please I beg of you, restore the brains to Liberals. I can’t take the stupidity any longer.

      Report Post » COFemale  
    • THX-1138
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:29pm

      @grudgywoof

      It’s called Fascism. Outlaw nets all together if you can’t accept the occasional accidental catch. If I hit a deer the only people who will ever hear about it will be fixing the car. Screw the Feds, long, hard and twice on Sunday. They’ve spent a hundred years earning this attitude from me (and turning some of you into willing serfs).

      To hell with every last one of them.

      Report Post » THX-1138  
    • my67camaro
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:00pm

      @JUSTINTEXAS…when a 800lb fish get caught in your net, you will know it (doesn’t matter how big the boat is, you know you caught something)…plus read the article, he was towing it for 2 hours..he knew he had it…He also knew the rules being a commercial fisherman.

      Report Post »  
    • code green
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 3:41pm

      The good captain is an idiot for more than one reason. He should have thrown it over board and shut up. Kind of like here, if we discovered an “endangered species” on the ranch. Shoot, shovel and shut up. Better forgiven than seek permission from the empire.

      Report Post »  
    • ConservativeMajority
      Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:39am

      Uhhhh…trawler?

      Report Post »  
  • Big Mickey
    Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:02pm

    They do because they can. What the story doesn’t disclose is that the captain is also subject to an administrative law money forfeiture that can be big deal, and he may be subject to imprisonment, too.

    What country are we in, again?

    Report Post » Big Mickey  
    • grudgywoof
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:07pm

      In Tennesse we have game rules that allow everyone to have a chance at a trophy fish, deer and soon elk. If you have no rules you have no game. People who don‘t use the resource just don’t understand the way it works. The Captain was wrong and the fish should go to homeless shelters.

      Report Post » grudgywoof  
    • Gary Fishaholic
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 2:49pm

      I have to agree with Grudgywolf on this one I am third generation fisherman commercial and sport we all know the rules or at least should. There is a reason to only catch with rodnreel as stated many times here but do also agree that the funds from the sale should go to some sort of charity. Since he called it in there should be no fine as stated they were not trying to hide it.

      Just my 2 cents and WOW that’s a big tuna!!

      Report Post » Gary Fishaholic  
    • grayling646
      Posted on November 21, 2011 at 4:06pm

      That’s what she said.

      Report Post »  
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