The Maryland DNR has located yet another illegal gill net set for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. This time the net was discovered by a recreational angler, fishing near the Choptank River. The net was a whopping 600 yards in length, and was so big that the first boat deployed to retrieve it, a 25-footer wasn’t large enough to bring it in.

“This discovery is a reminder that these illegally-set nets continue to plague Maryland’s fishery,” said Tony Friedrich, the executive director of the Maryland CCA (Coastal Conservation Association). “It also forces Maryland’s citizens to ask if the gill net fishery can be economically viable if it requires extreme levels of law enforcement on the water and at check stations. We urge anyone who has information about these acts to share it with the proper officials. There is now a reward in excess of $30,000 for such information.”

This discovery comes on the heels of finding multiple illegal nets set this winter near Bloody Point in the Chesapeake (see the article here). In those cases, over 10,000 pounds of dead fish were recovered. Anyone snagging or spotting an illegal net is asked to call the Catch a Poacher hotline, at 1-800-635-6124.