Re: NANFA-L-- FW: turtle poachers arrested in Alabama

dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
Wed, 27 Apr 2005 12:49:00 -0500

In all states I know, one is required to have a commercial fishing
license in order to legally catch fish for sale. The reason for that
is so that the state can regulate the trade for the protection of the
fish populations. If anyone is catching fish for sale under a sports
fishing license, in most states that person is poaching, which is a
crime.

The fact that the folks illegally catching turtles also caught turtles
legally is irrelevant to the conclusion that they committed a crime.
If we want to continue the privilege we have of collecting fish for
aquaria, we need to be on the side of resource protection.

Thanks, Dave

David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm

"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"

----- Original Message -----
From: Moontanman-in-aol.com
Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:42 am
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- FW: turtle poachers arrested in Alabama

> I'm confused, if only 340 of about 7000 turtles were caught
> illegally that
> means that almost all of the money was also legal. This article is
> very much
> slanted and causes people who read it to think of a vast illegal
> network catching
> thousands of illegal turtles when in actuality only a few of the
> turtles were
> indeed illegal. I know the breeding of turtles for sale is legal
> and should
> be legal. I am appalled that 7000 turtles could be caught legally
> by a few
> individuals but to insinuate that this was some kind of huge
> conspiracy is so
> misleading. Does anyone else on this list realize that we also
> catch fish, often
> for sale or trade, under laws that are often quite obscure or less
> than clear
> and that some of us, if not many of us, could be caught up in some
> sort of
> similar operation just for catching the small fish we all love so
> much?
>
>
> Michael Hissom (AKA Moon)
> Lower Cape Fear River, Waccamaw Lake and river system, and coastal
> salt water
> and brackish water estuaries in the same location. (South Eastern
> North
> Carolina)
> I have access to the only natural Ocean Shore Rock out cropping in
> Coastal NC
>
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