Partnership to provide life jackets to boaters

DOVER (May 23, 2019) – DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, through a partnership with the boating safety nonprofit Sea Tow Foundation, announced today the launch of a Life Jacket Loaner Program for boaters operating in Delaware. To avoid ending a boating voyage on Delaware waterways when boaters are found without legally-required life jackets, officers will have loaner life jackets in sizes Infant to Adult XL onboard their patrol vessels for the public to borrow and return.

Delaware law requires all vessel owners/operators to carry a readily-accessible, properly-sized life jacket for each person onboard, and that all children 12 years old and younger aboard a vessel of any type wear a life jacket while the vessel is underway. All personal watercraft (PWC) operators and passengers, irrespective of age, must wear a life jacket while a PWC is underway.

Since 2008, the Sea Tow Foundation has distributed more than 40,000 life jackets to local businesses and organizations across the country. Boaters may borrow the life jackets and are asked to return them when they are finished so that they are available for others to use.

The following local businesses and organizations have also partnered with DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police to serve as drop off locations to return the life jackets:

For more information on the Life Jacket Loaner Program or boating safety in Delaware, click Delaware Boating Safety or contact Boating Safety & Education Coordinator Sgt. Brooke Mitchell at 302-739-9913 or email brooke.mitchell@delaware.gov.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Delaware-Fish-Wildlife-Natural-Resources-Police.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Vol. 49, No. 136

Reminder for the week: Start the boating season off right by wearing your lifejacket

DOVER – To achieve public compliance with laws and regulations through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between April 8-14 made 2,451 contacts with hunters, anglers, boaters, and the general public, issuing 63 citations. Officers responded to 69 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. A Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

• On April 13, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers responded to a reported water rescue in the Delaware River, north of Pea Patch Island. Upon arrival, officers observed a small vessel that had run aground, leaving the passengers stranded. The operator, Nicholas E. Jordan, 30, of Carlisle, Pa., was cited for one count each of failure to maintain a proper lookout and no boating safety certificate. Jordan was fined $189, including court costs, and released.

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

Wildlife Conservation: Hunting with an unplugged shotgun capable of holding more than three shells (1), illegal method of take (1), hunting wild turkeys out of season (2), hunting wild turkeys during prohibited hours (2), failure to wear camouflage clothing while hunting wild turkey (2), hunting wild turkeys without an approved course of instruction (2), and unlicensed hunting (1).

Fisheries Conservation: Possession of undersized white perch (2)*, unlicensed fishing (2)*, fishing in a closed area (5), possession of undersized blue crab (1), no Fisherman Information Network (FIN) number (6), and unlicensed fishing (7).

Boating & Boating Safety: Inattentive operation of a motor vessel (1), no boating safety certificate (1), operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (4), and no life jacket on a child age 12 or younger as required by law (2).

Public Safety: Possession of marijuana – civil (1)*, possession of drug paraphernalia – marijuana-related (2), shooting within 15 yards of a public roadway (1), hunting from a vehicle (2), and possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle (2).

Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (10), criminal trespass 3rd (1), and conspiracy 3rd degree (2).

*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 or through the DENRP Tip app on a smartphone, which can be downloaded free of charge by searching “DENRP Tip” via the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030, going online to http://de.gov/ogt, or using the DENRP Tip app. Verizon customers can connect to Operation Game Theft directly by dialing #OGT.

Are you AWARE?
Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind boaters to practice safe boating, especially by wearing lifejackets. Delaware law requires that all personal watercraft (PWC) operators and PWC passengers, as well as all children 12 years old and younger aboard a vessel of any type wear a lifejacket while underway. The law does not require wearing a lifejacket for those age 13 years and older on vessels other than PWCs; however, vessel owners/operators are required to carry a readily accessible, properly sized lifejacket for each person onboard.

The same requirements that apply to motorized vessels also apply to paddleboards, canoes, and kayaks operating on Delaware waters. All paddleboards, canoes, and kayaks must have a wearable lifejacket and a whistle or other sound-producing device aboard and readily accessible.

For more information on safe boating practices in Delaware, please visit Delaware Boating Safety.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DEFWNRPolice/.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Contact: Sgt. Brooke Mitchell, 302-382-7167, or Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913

LEWES (April 11, 2019) – Volunteers wanting to help protect Delaware’s beachnesting birds, including federally-listed threatened piping plovers, are invited to join DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife monitoring team at a training session to be held from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 4, at Cape Henlopen State Park’s Biden Environmental Training Center, 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive, Lewes, DE 19958.

The training session will begin with a slideshow, followed by a discussion about the monitoring program and how volunteers can help ensure that beachnesting shorebirds are not disturbed while nesting and rearing their chicks. Light refreshments will be provided.

Weather permitting, the group will finish the session by venturing out to the Point at Cape Henlopen to look for piping plovers and other shorebirds likely to be feeding on the tidal flats. Birding scopes and binoculars will be available for use, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own optics if they have them.

Volunteers are an important component in the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s conservation efforts. When stationed on the boundaries of the bird nesting areas, volunteers can explain to beachgoers the importance of closing these nesting areas to prevent human disturbance and to increase the nesting success of the birds.

Pre-registration for the training is encouraged, but volunteers also will be accepted at the door. Park entrance fees will be waived for volunteers attending the training. For more information on the training, beachnesting birds, or monitoring efforts, please visit piping plover or contact Henrietta Bellman at 302-735-3612 or Henrietta.Bellman@delaware.gov.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

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

Vol. 49, No. 91

NEW CASTLE – The Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 16, at the Buena Vista Conference Center, 661 South DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720, in the Buck Library. More information about the April 16 RAC meeting, including the agenda, can be found on the state public meeting calendar at https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/61699.

Details on the RAC can be found on the Coastal Zone Conversion Permits webpage. For more information, the public can sign up for the Coastal Zone Conservation Permit Act listserv by sending a blank email to join-dnrec_coastal_zone@lists.state.de.us.

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

Vol. 49, No. 90

Property ownership changes and construction projects prompt changes; anglers encouraged to respect private property

DOVER – Recent changes in property ownership and ongoing construction projects have prompted changes to some traditional trout stocking locations at Mill, Pike, and Red Clay creeks, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today. Trout stocking locations are unchanged this year at Beaver Run, Christina Creek, White Clay Creek, and Wilson Run.

The following locations on Mill, Pike, and Red Clay creeks will be stocked with trout in 2019:
Mill Creek

• Girl Scout Camp, 3850 Mill Creek Road
• Mill Creek Road Open Space, across the road from Mockingbird Hills Development
• Limestone Hills Park, 3045 Stoney Batter Road – from Stony Batter Road Bridge upstream approximately 250 yards

Pike Creek

• Granville Road bridge, downstream of bridge ONLY
• Linden Hill Road bridge, downstream of bridge ONLY
• Pike Creek Road bridge

Red Clay Creek

• Benge Road bridge downstream to the Yorklyn Road Bridge (Trout will not be stocked from the Pennsylvania state line downstream to the Farm Lane bridge, due to bridge construction.)

Trout stream directional signs will be posted at Mill, Pike, and Red Clay creeks prior to opening day to help guide anglers to the stocked waters. Anglers are reminded to access only those waters that are open to public access, and to identify property boundaries and obtain permission from property owners before fishing on private lands. Landowners are not required to post their property.

Mill Creek and Pike Creek, as well as Beaver Run, Christina Creek, White Clay Creek, and Wilson Run, are being stocked prior to the trout season, and are closed to all fishing until 7 a.m. on the April 6 trout season opening day. Trout will be stocked in Red Clay Creek on April 8, at which time anglers can fish for trout as soon as the fish are stocked. All trout streams will be periodically restocked with trout during the spring trout season.

The daily possession limit is six trout per person. There is no minimum size limit for freshwater trout, in part, since they are a cold water species that survive only while water temperatures remain cool, so anglers are encouraged to keep their catch within established possession limits.

For more information, including the revised stocking schedule, click Delaware Trout Season. Information on fishing license and trout stamp requirements can be found at Delaware Licenses. For general information on fishing in Delaware, click 2019 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, and from license agents throughout the state.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

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

Vol.49, No. 80