Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Blotter: July 24-30
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Date Posted: Friday, August 4, 2017
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Date Posted: Friday, August 4, 2017
Reminder for the week: Observe safety precautions when towing water skiers, tubers, knee-boarders
DOVER – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between July 24-30 made 1,197 contacts with anglers, boaters and the general public, including 111 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks, issuing 121 citations. Officers responded to 78 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.
Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:
Wildlife Conservation: Unlicensed Hunting (1), game animal not consumed or utilized for its value (1), hunt from a roadway (7), hunt white tailed deer during closed season (6), hunting at nighttime (1), possess transport an antlerless deer (3), unlawful method of take for white tailed deer (1), fail to attach antlerless deer tag (1), fail to register antlerless deer within 24 hours (1), and failure to retain antlerless deer tag (1).
Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Unlicensed fishing (7), possession of undersized striped bass (1), possession of undersized blue crabs (7), and possession of undersized white perch (1). Commercial: Improperly marked commercial crab pots (26).
Boating and Boating Safety: Negligent operation of a motor vessel (1), operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (3), operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol (1), failure to observe slow/no wake zone (1), no life jacket on a child age 12 or younger as required by law (4), and unregistered vessel (1).
Public Safety: Driving under the influence of alcohol (1)*, possession of drug paraphernalia (2)*, fail to stop at a stop sign (1), driving with a suspended or revoked license (1)*, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited (4), loaded firearm in a vehicle (7), driving without a license (2), no vehicle insurance (1), accelerate to cause wheels to spin or slip on road (1)*, and fail to drive at speed appropriate for conditions (1)*.
Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (18)*, littering on a state wildlife area (2)*, operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway on a state wildlife area (3)*, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle (1).
*Includes citation(s) issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.
DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting and boating laws and regulations. Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at de.gov/ogt.
Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind boaters of some important safety regulations when towing water skiers, tubers and knee-boarders.
“Water skiing requires at least three participants – the water skier, the boat operator and a competent observer – and this also applies to tubing and knee-boarding,” said Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police boating safety coordinator. “Under Delaware law, any vessel towing a water skier, tuber or knee-boarder must have a person aboard other than the operator to act as the observer. To ensure the skier’s safety, the observer faces backwards, watches the skier and alerts the boat operator of any hand signals from the skier or if the skier goes down.”
Other safety requirements for water skiing, tubing and knee-boarding:
For more information, please visit the Delaware Boating Safety webpage.
Media Contacts: Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386
Related Topics: F&W Enforcement, health and safety, law enforcement
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Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | Date Posted: Friday, August 4, 2017
Reminder for the week: Observe safety precautions when towing water skiers, tubers, knee-boarders
DOVER – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between July 24-30 made 1,197 contacts with anglers, boaters and the general public, including 111 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks, issuing 121 citations. Officers responded to 78 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.
Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:
Wildlife Conservation: Unlicensed Hunting (1), game animal not consumed or utilized for its value (1), hunt from a roadway (7), hunt white tailed deer during closed season (6), hunting at nighttime (1), possess transport an antlerless deer (3), unlawful method of take for white tailed deer (1), fail to attach antlerless deer tag (1), fail to register antlerless deer within 24 hours (1), and failure to retain antlerless deer tag (1).
Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Unlicensed fishing (7), possession of undersized striped bass (1), possession of undersized blue crabs (7), and possession of undersized white perch (1). Commercial: Improperly marked commercial crab pots (26).
Boating and Boating Safety: Negligent operation of a motor vessel (1), operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (3), operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol (1), failure to observe slow/no wake zone (1), no life jacket on a child age 12 or younger as required by law (4), and unregistered vessel (1).
Public Safety: Driving under the influence of alcohol (1)*, possession of drug paraphernalia (2)*, fail to stop at a stop sign (1), driving with a suspended or revoked license (1)*, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited (4), loaded firearm in a vehicle (7), driving without a license (2), no vehicle insurance (1), accelerate to cause wheels to spin or slip on road (1)*, and fail to drive at speed appropriate for conditions (1)*.
Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (18)*, littering on a state wildlife area (2)*, operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway on a state wildlife area (3)*, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle (1).
*Includes citation(s) issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.
DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting and boating laws and regulations. Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at de.gov/ogt.
Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind boaters of some important safety regulations when towing water skiers, tubers and knee-boarders.
“Water skiing requires at least three participants – the water skier, the boat operator and a competent observer – and this also applies to tubing and knee-boarding,” said Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police boating safety coordinator. “Under Delaware law, any vessel towing a water skier, tuber or knee-boarder must have a person aboard other than the operator to act as the observer. To ensure the skier’s safety, the observer faces backwards, watches the skier and alerts the boat operator of any hand signals from the skier or if the skier goes down.”
Other safety requirements for water skiing, tubing and knee-boarding:
For more information, please visit the Delaware Boating Safety webpage.
Media Contacts: Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386
Related Topics: F&W Enforcement, health and safety, law enforcement
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.