A Virginia Marine Police sting early Saturday morning netted two men accused of poaching hundreds, or possibly thousands, of protected fish (red drum and speckled trout) from a Hampton Roads waterway.
Virginia Marine police have had numerous complaints about poaching in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River over the last two weeks, according to Marine Police Officer Bill Thompson. On Friday, the marine police were notified of some suspicious activity in an area known as The Cove on the Elizabeth River, so they set up a sting operation on Friday. Two men were arrested for poaching protected fish and hundreds of fish were seized.
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"Of these hundreds of fish, almost all of them, about 98 percent of them, are over the legal size limit," Thompson said. "This was a complete disregard for the species and for the fisheries. This was poaching on a large scale", said Officer Thompson.
Both men face charges concerning illegal possession and harvesting of fish and there are several felony charges pending against the men.
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