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DNR seizes 708 lbs of illegal shrimp
Local trawler cited for shrimping in closed waters
RFC Toney r and Cpl. Morgan l with confiscated shrimp
Ranger 1st Class Kiel Toney surveys 708 pounds of shrimp that was illegally caught by a Liberty County-based trawler 1.1 miles into closed waters, off the shore of Ossabaw Island. The shrimp were sold for $3,577. Shrimp season starts Tuesday. - photo by Photo provided.
Shrimp season in Coastal Georgia waters begins Tuesday, but some shrimp-boat captains don’t want to wait and will risk shrimping in closed waters. According to Georgia Department of Natural Resources Capt. Doug Lewis, they may face having their shrimp confiscated by DNR rangers, as well as heavy fines and criminal charges.Lewis said a 44-foot shrimp trawler was boarded by DNR rangers early Saturday morning off the shore of Ossabaw Island Cpl. Jay Morgan and Sgt. Phillip Scott, who are assigned to Liberty County, and Cpl. Chris Moore and Ranger 1st Class Kiel Toney, who are assigned to Chatham County, made the shrimp bust.Lewis said the boat, which is based in Liberty County, was escorted to Sunbury, where 708 pounds of shrimp were confiscated and sold for $3,577. He said that while Morgan and Scott weighed the illegally caught shellfish, Moore and Toney measured the shrimp boat’s turtle-excluder device that allows sea turtles to escape from shrimp nets.
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