Reminder for the week: Observe safety precautions when towing water skiers

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, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between June 20-26 made 1,696 contacts with anglers, boaters and the general public, including 169 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks. Officers responded to 43 complaints and issued 30 citations, one of which was related to the C&D Canal Conservation Area and associated recreational trail, where there is an increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence.

An incident of note:

• On June 25, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police cited Gerard M. Centofanti, 68, of Reading, Pa., Todd Sheridan, 51, of Thomasville, Pa., John Krinex, 70, of Ellenton, Fla., and Bradley Sheridan, 73, of Spring Grove, Pa., for one count each of recreational crab pot tampering on Vines Creek in Indian River Bay. The four men were fined $107 each, including court costs.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (1)*, and operating an unregistered motor vehicle on a state wildlife area (1).

Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Unlicensed fishing (6), recreational crab pot tampering (4), use of recreational crab pots without required turtle excluder (1), possession of undersized blue crabs (5), and possession of undersized summer flounder (2).

Boating and Boating Safety: Operating a vessel with insufficient number of lifejackets (2), no lifejackets on water skiers (2), failure to observe slow-no-wake zone (3), operating an unregistered vessel (1), no fire extinguisher (1), and no boating education certificate (1).

* Citation issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.

Are you AWARE?
DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind boaters of some important safety regulations when towing water skiers.

“Water skiing is a three-person sport – the water skier, the boat operator and the observer,” said Sgt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police boating safety coordinator. “Under Delaware law, any vessel towing a water skier 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:

• Recreational water skiers must wear lifejackets.
• A water skiing tow line cannot exceed 75 feet in length.
• Observe all “Slow-No Wake” areas.
• Avoid traveling at unsafe speeds, including congested areas.
• If water skiing or tubing behind a personal watercraft (PWC), the PWC must have the capacity to legally carry the operator, observer and the person being towed.
• Observe marked “No Water Skiing” areas, which include all marked swimming areas, Assawoman Canal, Indian River Inlet, Roosevelt Inlet, Whites Creek, a portion of the channel through Masseys Landing and portions of the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal.
• Maintain a safe and reasonable distance from shipping lanes, other vessels, persons and property.
• Water skiing is prohibited at night between sunset and sunrise, and within 100 feet of persons in the water, piers, docks, floats, wharfs, vessels anchored or adrift and private or public boat launch ramps.

For more information, please visit Delaware Boating Safety.

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 http://de.gov/ogt.

Contact: Sgt. John McDerby, DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386, or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

LEWES – On the eve of what many consider the biggest recreational fishing weekend of the year, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has confirmed a new state record in the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament – a false albacore caught June 29 by a Pennsylvania angler from the fishing boat Get Bent in Masseys Canyon, about 35 miles offshore from Indian River Inlet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Tim Parrill of Wellsville, Pa., caught the record fish – which measured 30.75 inches long, had a 22-inch girth and weighed 20.5 pounds – with Capt. Steve Lednum at the helm of Get Bent. The false albacore was weighed at Hook ‘Em & Cook ‘Em in Rehoboth Beach and certified as a new state record by Lieutenant Casey Zolper of DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.

The fish outweighed by a half-pound the previous state record 20-pound false albacore, caught in 2008 by Christian Anderson. A member of the tuna family, also known as “little tunny,” the false albacore is a popular game fish for its fight and run against an angler’s line. It is also the most plentiful of the tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and can make fine seafood when properly prepared.

For more information on the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament, click on 2016 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents throughout the state.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is looking for wildlife watchers and outdoor enthusiasts to assist with its 7th annual wild turkey reproduction survey, helping to identify locations where Delaware’s top game bird is successfully reproducing in the state. The data helps biologists track the health, distribution and reproductive success of the state’s wild turkey population with the goal of ensuring a sustainable harvest of this treasured and robust game species.

“Today, Delaware has a thriving wild turkey population that enables an annual turkey hunting season, but this was not always the case. The reintroduction of the wild turkey to Delaware 30 years ago, nearly 200 years after it became locally extinct, remains one of the state’s greatest wildlife restoration success stories,” said Division of Fish & Wildlife Director David Saveikis.

Beginning in early 1984, with support from the National Wild Turkey Federation and Delaware Wild Lands, Division of Fish & Wildlife biologists released 34 wild-trapped turkeys from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Vermont into Sussex and Kent counties. Reintroductions continued through the 1990s, and once the population had established a foothold in Delaware, a hunting season was opened in 1991. Today, Delaware has a healthy statewide population.

To help ensure the continued success of wild turkeys in Delaware, the Division of Fish & Wildlife needs information on the birds’ annual reproductive success. One simple and cost-effective method is for volunteers to record and report sightings of turkeys during their day-to-day activities. The 2016 survey period begins today and continues through Wednesday, Aug. 31. Upon sighting turkeys, participants are asked to record the date, location and number of adult hens, gobblers (males) and poults (young of the year) they observe. Participants are asked to submit their results by Saturday, Sept. 10.

In 2015, survey participants submitted more than 182 observations that provided valuable insight on turkey production during last year’s nesting season. Statewide, reports indicated that reproductive success was below average compared to the last few seasons. Wet spring and other conditions likely caused some first nesting attempts to fail or result in poult mortality during the first weeks after hatching. Young turkeys’ feathers develop rapidly and birds can fly at two weeks of age, which greatly improves their odds of survival. A summary of last year’s survey results, as well as a data sheet and set of instructions, is available for volunteers to download by visiting Delaware wild turkey survey.

“Every year we get new and returning volunteers to submit their data and observations, and every year the quality and quantity of the data continues to improve,” said Wildlife Biologist Joe Rogerson, Division of Fish & Wildlife. “The more people who participate and the more observations they submit from all corners of the state, adds to the science available to help manage this public trust resource.”

For more information, please contact Wildlife Biologist Joe Rogerson, at 302-735-3600.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 240

Hunters, trappers reminded to buy 2016/17 licenses available July 1

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is pleased to announce publication and widespread availability of the 2016-2017 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide. This year’s cover features the winning photograph in the 2015/16 Hunting Photography Contest, “A Day to Remember,” by Lance Barrowcliff of Wilmington. The guide is available now at participating license agents throughout the state, at the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s licensing desk in the Richardson and Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway in Dover and online at 2016-2017 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide.

Hunters and trappers will want to review the guide before heading afield this fall. Season dates for the 2016/17 hunting and trapping seasons are included, as well as a summary of Delaware laws and regulations pertaining to legal harvest of game species. Migratory game bird seasons are also included in the guide for the first time, due to changes in the federal migratory bird regulatory process, meaning separate publication of these seasons at a later date is no longer necessary. Readers can also find information on licensing/permit requirements, hunting opportunities on public lands and classes on hunting and trapping offered by the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Hunter Education Program.

Licenses and waterfowl stamps for the 2016/17 hunting and trapping seasons will go on sale Friday, July 1. “Licenses may be purchased from more than 70 authorized license agents located throughout the state, from DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building or online by visiting us at www.fw.delaware.gov,” said Division of Fish & Wildlife Recreational License Program Coordinator Candace Dunning.

Delaware residents age 16 or older and under the age of 65 and non-residents age 16 or older must purchase an adult license to hunt in Delaware. A junior hunting license is available for youths age 13 through 15. Hunters and trappers who are exempt from purchasing a license must obtain an annual, free License Exempt Number (LEN). Hunters who plan to pursue migratory gamebirds such as ducks, geese and doves, must register for an annual, free Harvest Information Program (HIP) number.

To obtain HIP and LEN numbers or to register a deer harvest from smartphones, tablets or PCs, hunters and trappers should use the Hunter and Trapper Registration System (HTR), available by visiting www.dnrec.delaware.gov/delhunt. To talk to a live customer service representative, please call 855-DELHUNT (855-335-4868).

Hunters age 16 and older who hunt migratory waterfowl, including resident Canada geese, are required to purchase a Delaware Waterfowl Stamp, which is not required for Delaware resident hunters 65 and over. A Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp, available for purchase online and at U.S. Post Offices, is required for all waterfowl hunters age 16 and older; no exemptions are made for persons 65 years or older for purchasing federal stamps.

Hunters who enjoy hunting on state wildlife areas should note that a $20 annual State Wildlife Area Deer Stand/Waterfowl Blind Lottery Permit (formerly referred to as the Public Land Use Permit) is required for any hunter using a state deer stand or waterfowl blind acquired through a daily lottery.

“This permit will be linked to your hunting license or LEN number at the time of purchase. So if you purchase your permit at a later date, please remember to have your hunting license or LEN number,” Ms. Dunning said.

Delaware Waterfowl Stamps and hunting licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware hunting licenses, call 302-739-9918.

Hunters, be AWARE:
The Division of Fish & Wildlife has received calls from hunters who thought they were buying a Delaware hunting license from the website RecreationalLicense.org/hunting when they made a purchase from that site. The private, unaffiliated website does NOT sell licenses, but sells information about hunting and how to obtain hunting licenses for $19.99 – the same information that is readily available for free on the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s website. Delaware hunting licenses, meanwhile, are sold online only on the Division of Fish & Wildlife website, www.fw.delaware.gov, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by authorized license agents statewide. Only the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s website is authorized to sell Delaware fishing and hunting licenses online.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Three chicks take flight on the Point at Cape Henlopen

LEWES – A pair of piping plovers that lost their nest at Gordons Pond in Cape Henlopen State Park has regrouped and nested again within the park, with three eggs observed so far, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today. Another nest is still being incubated on the Point, with hatching expected over the next few days.

Three broods of piping plover chicks are continuing to forage on the Point, with one of the broods having fledged three chicks earlier this week, according to Division of Fish & Wildlife Biologist Matthew Bailey.

In other beachnesting bird news, the American oystercatcher nest on the Point is due to hatch this week, and least terns continue to defend their colony at Gordons Pond, Bailey added.

For more information about beachnesting birds and monitoring efforts, please contact Matthew Bailey at 302-382-4151 or email matthew.bailey@delaware.gov.

About the piping plover
The piping plover was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1986, and the Division of Fish & Wildlife is responsible for its protection in Delaware. Under a binding agreement and species management plan that DNREC made in 1990 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) – the federal agency with oversight of this ESA-protected species – piping plover nesting areas at Cape Henlopen State Park are closed annually to the public to protect the shorebirds from disturbance during their nesting season from March into September. The closure, which includes the Point and smaller areas around Gordons Pond and with both feeding habitat and nesting areas protected, has been successful, increasing the number of piping plover nesting pairs from a low of two pairs to a high of nine pairs. Piping plovers feed on small invertebrates that inhabit the intertidal zone near their nesting territories. Chicks are not fed by their parents, but rather are led to the shoreline to forage while the adults keep watch for potential threats. Allowing pedestrian traffic in the intertidal zone adjoining nesting areas would disturb the vital link between nesting and foraging habitat, and risks adverse stress or mortality to the chicks.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902