Sea bass bust !

Andy I would venture to say the scale of illicit commercial activity is at epic levels with wholesale and retail prices today, the slap on the wrist penalties these guys get when caught and lack of available enforcement resources. Second time around, guy should have his boat and all his equipment confiscated and there should be jail time for stealing a public resource. The black market for fish in NY alone has to be enormous and recreational anglers get penalized based on guesstimate MRIP data for prior year landings while commercial guys received a 40% increase in this years fluke quota which translated amounts to over $10,000,000 more in catch value! It's a rigged game and the recreational community is getting screwed every year.