Striped bass fishermen on the New Hampshire Seacoast have been enjoying a great summer striper fishery thanks to big schools of baitfish known as pogies (menhaden) that have drawn in striped bass to 50 pounds. Unfortunately, the excellent fishing has also attracted poachers from across the border looking to sell striped bass in Massachusetts.

On Monday, July 15, New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers teamed up on the coast with Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers to investigate suspicious activity in New Hampshire waters. New Hampshire has regulations that allow for the recreational take of striped bass (currently 1 fish per angler, 28 to less than 31 inches), but Massachusetts also has a commercial quota that allows permitted vessels to harvest more and larger striped bass (15 fish over 35 inches per vessel) in their state’s waters.

Officers worked throughout the night, and by Tuesday morning, multiple offenders were apprehended in New Hampshire waters with evidence of taking striped bass to fill quotas in Massachusetts.

As a result of the efforts, officers seized evidence, including fish and equipment, to prosecute the pending charges which include overlimits of fish, oversized fish, and the use of gaffs. Further investigation is underway as the two states work together.

Although the bust was well publicized on social media to deter would-be violators, at around 3 pm on Tuesday, July 23, tips started flooding in through direct calls to New Hampshire’s coastal conservation officers and through the NH Operation Game Thief tip line reporting that a single boat with a Massachusetts hull number was catching and keeping oversized striped bass off the coast of New Castle and Rye.

The boat in question fled the area in an unknown direction after multiple anglers yelled that they were calling Fish and Game. New Hampshire Fish and Game Officers began searching for the boat and included Maine Marine Patrol, Massachusetts Environmental Police, and local police to BOLO (be on the lookout) for the suspect vessel and operator. Portsmouth Police Department successfully located him after he had loaded his boat onto a trailer and was in the act of ditching 14 oversized striped bass ranging from 37 to 47 inches.

NH Fish and Game officers conducted a thorough investigation and lengthy interview with the individual. Caught red-handed, he confessed that his intent was to sell his catch under his commercial striped bass permit in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Please report natural resource violations! In New Hampshire, contact Operation Game Thief (OGT) at 800-344-4262 or use the app found at nhogt.org.