TEXAS CITY, Texas – Texas Game Wardens say multiple citations and warnings were issued to three individuals who were catching fish and crabs through illegal means at the Texas City Dike.
The agency says they responded after a concerned citizen made a report of suspicious fishing activity at the dike during the early morning hours sometime earlier this month.
After arriving, game wardens hiked over a mile to conduct surveillance from a concealed position. They saw three people actively deploying and tending multiple nets and repeatedly filling a cooler with aquatic resources.
The agency says after the group removed several large nets from the water and returned to their vehicle, the game wardens made contact with them. The wardens found that the group had four gill nets totaling over 700 feet in length and an oversized cast net in their possession.
Gill nets are illegal in Texas public waters as they indiscriminately kill marine life. Cast nets are only legal for taking nongame fish and must not be greater than 14 feet in diameter. In saltwater, nongame fish taken by a cast net may only be used for bait purposes.
The agency says the game wardens found the group had illegally taken 137 saltwater fish of various species as well as three stone crabs and one sponge crab. Additionally, two of the three individuals did not have valid fishing licenses.
Game wardens issued multiple citations and warnings after documenting approximately 160 different violations. The nets and edible aquatic resources were seized as well.
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