"Fishy" Filets

By Lt. Darryl C. Moore

 

While working Federal Fisheries patrol, we received a call through Operation Game Thief concerning a commercial vessel bringing in large amounts of illegal Red Snapper fillets from offshore.  Sgt. Richard La Biche, Sgt. Donnie Guerin and I were in the vicinity of Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay so we began trying to locate the vessel coming from offshore.  At the same time, Sr. Agent Keith Delahoussaye was in the Intracoastal Waterway attempting to locate the vessel.  As fate would have it, Sr. Agent Delahoussaye located the vessel docked at Intracoastal City.  He could see people moving about the dock, so after a brief discussion he decided to board the vessel and asked if they had caught any fish.  During this time, Agents Aaron Monceaux and Lt. Glenn Angelle were en route to lend assistance.

After meeting with the Captain of the vessel, Agent Delahoussaye discovered that the crew had indeed caught a variety of fish while offshore.  He then brought Agent Delahoussaye to the area where they had stored the fish fillets.  There was a large amount of frozen fish fillets.  Lt. Angelle informed the crew of their rights and learned that the fish had been caught well offshore.  There was a total of l50 lbs. of fish fillets.  One of the crewmembers admitted to catching at least  50 Red Snapper during the trip.  The catch included Red Snapper, Grouper, King Mackerel, and Red Drum.

This was an excellent case of demonstrating how important it is to work together among different regions.  Also, of what can be accomplished when a concerned public gets involved in reporting wildlife violations.