Poachers

[oldbones]

I'm sure everyone has come across the spot on the banks littered with minnow containers, tangles of fishing line,cigarette butts and beer cans. I always carry a few bags to tidy the mess up,especially if the fishing is sucking that day. What about when you actually meet the offending guy or guys with a bag of trout? What effective actions do you take? What about if you're not in cellular range?(Livingstone or Highwood for instance) I'm not really looking for face punching advice but rather some useful advice from someone who's tried it.

[cheeler]

Write down the time, date, physical description of the offenders, what they were using (i.e. bait) or a count if they are actually stupid enough to show you what they took out. If you see them drive away, get a vehicle description and license plate, if possible. Phone it into RAP when you get back home or find a CO in the area.

 

If it really looks like they're just ignorant anglers who are new and didn't bother to read the rules instead of poachers you can try educating them about the rules, but be discreet because if they're true poachers you may end up in the 'face punching' situation.

[jtaylor]

The people that I have run into have usually been foreign or frence. I usually mention to them what they are doing is not allowed and tell them about the fines they can receive. Have not received a facepunch..yet.

 

That said if it was some redneck I would probably snap a few photos then try to track down their vehicle for details:

 

Details required

"Date, time and location of offense
License plate number of vehicle
Vehicle description, including any identifying features, dents, stickers, etc.
Description of person(s) involved
Description of evidence at the scene, or evidence of the crime that the violators took with them
Details of the violation

Call 1-800-642-3800."

If I couldn't call that day I would call another time and ask where I could submit the photos.

http://www.reportapoacher.com/

 

I wish there was a reward system in place. Ex. $500 for report a poacher that gets convicted.

[SilverDoctor]

Report, report, report!!! on a few occasion I've taken pictures and sent those off with a report and License no's. But above all else just look and report, never get into a confrontation. I also email areas of streams with discarded bait containers so they can up patrols.

[oldbones]

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of how effective these reports are at getting convictions? Any CO's in the community? Do they even have time and manpower to pursue these reports all the way to a conviction? Are the aforementioned details to include in a report enough or do you actually need video of the offense in progress?

[DonAndersen]

A couple of things.

 

1) there is a "crime pays" program. For every conviction where you reported the crime the Report a Poacher pays you.

2) far better if you can report the crime in progress otherwise I was told you will have to testify in court.

 

Don

[Hawgstoppah]

Lets look at the way a government works in this regard though folks.

 

Lots of phone calls and complaints (even if nothing becomes of them) is the measuring stick for actual need. Up that two hundred percent and then they have a statistic to work with. They don't care about touchy feely things like whether bull trout are dying or there are bait containers lying around... just a cold hard fact they need to see that number or statistic to verify an actual need for increased enforcement. We obviously are NOT reporting often enough.

 

If we don't call.... some fellow in Edmonton looks at some numbers, says "well phone calls / complaints were only on par with last year's" and voila, no new officers, no thought towards increased efforts in the department at all.

 

So get those calls in a hundred fold! Every time you see a violation, bait cans on a bait free river, actual poaching, (past or present) etc etc

[oldbones]

Good point, that is how it works.

Hey, how do we feel about posting pics of violators here?

[Jayhad]

I have been in this exact situation, I ask to take pictures of them and their fish, I wish them a good day and high tail it to cell service, call them in and then go back to the location and watch the hilarity ensue. Wait 3 weeks and cash your cheque

[graphicguy]

Good point, that is how it works.

Hey, how do we feel about posting pics of violators here?

 

 

Pretty sure you can't post someone's pic here you need a model release to do that sort of thing being they can be identified

[WyomingGeorge]

Jay: How do you hold the camera steady as you roar past them in your jetboat down the Class IV rapids?

[oldbones]

 

 

Pretty sure you can't post someone's pic here you need a model release to do that sort of thing being they can be identified

From what I can gather, if the person is in a public place and the picture is not being used for commercial purposes, should be okay.

 

Also, no summary defamation of the individual eg. "This guy is a piece of **** criminal. "

Simply a picture of a guy holding a string of cuts you met on the Livingstone, perfectly okay.

[Frenchie]

Reporting does work. I was having a picnic along JP in K country last month and a F&W officer came out of the woods, binoculars out and told he was trying to find a poacher who had been reported as targeting the wrong specy of trout, and he carried on discreetly amongst the trees. Then 5 mn after that another officer came around. I don't know if they caught the guy(s) but they sure were taking it seriously.

[Heimdallr]

From what I can gather, if the person is in a public place and the picture is not being used for commercial purposes, should be okay.

 

Also, no summary defamation of the individual eg. "This guy is a piece of **** criminal. "

Simply a picture of a guy holding a string of cuts you met on the Livingstone, perfectly okay.

This is correct. If you are in a public place, you have accepted a reasonable expectation of being photographed.

[GregoryV]

Find a poacher? I agree photos are best to avoid situations. And at times chatting about what they are up to often yields ignorance on the part of the offender. And they may even be receptive to that chat.

[BigFoamy]

Jay: How do you hold the camera steady as you roar past them in your jetboat down the Class IV rapids?

LMAO!!!!!

[cgyguy]

In the past few years of fishing the Bow, I have NEVER seen a F&W Officer in a boat checking for licenses of fisher people. I am more than happy to have these guys on the river checking things out, but I just haven't seen any of them lately? Is it because our resources are too low to provide them a boat to run up and down the river? I am not advocating that they need to do this daily, but having a presence on the river in a proactive manner would be great. I often scratch my head when I see where these poachers are on the river and how they even got there? I am not sure if F&W could catch them unless they had a boat. I have reported many poachers over the years, and can remember specifically a couple of Asian persons that were poaching at FCP. I called and F&W came right away and were successful in charging them, however, this is an easy access location. I see more and more poachers down river and away from vehicle traffic, like I said , I don't know how they get there! I still report them, but not sure how successful this is.

 

My 2cents worth!

 

Cheers

Cyguy

[Jayhad]

George, the faster you run the jet the smoother the ride

 

 

CGYGUY, I have seen srd multiple times on the bow. They are typically in a green canoe, with rods and in shirt or coat covering their uniforms. The major problem with srd visibility is that there is so few of them in the province. There have been times when I have called and an officer calls back to tell me he is the closest to Calgary and just leaving Sundre.

 

That said, I did get a call this week letting me know that I should be expecting a cheque soon from my last call in.

[fishinglibin]

There have been times when I have called and an officer calls back to tell me he is the closest to Calgary and just leaving Sundre.

 

I too have reported poachers and the officer who called back said they are dispatched out of Lethbridge, and he was currently near Strathmore. Responded when he could but was too late. Couple years ago for about 3 years used to see a nice officer named Gary quite frequently. He commandeered my boat once to bust some people.Also seen CO on a jet ski, but also the canoe on river and lakes as said with plain clothes and caps till they get to your boat. All in all, they are seen less frequently. Too many miles for too few.

[WyomingGeorge]

Also, I'm speculating here but I would assume they are focused on protecting indigenous wildlife from being illegally killed, rather than non-native sport fish on a mostly C&W river that's in generally good shape. They probably would rather save 1 elk than worry about whether a commercially guided drift boat catches 27 rainbows on the Bow rather than 23 because four were eaten.

 

That's just a guess, but if I were a wildlife manager with too few staff and too big an area to cover, that would be my priority.

[albertatrout]

There is literally next to no body left in the service. I am in contact with fish and wildlife very regularly and it is shocking how often a large swath of the province doesn't even have an on-duty officer. I reported somebody illegally trying to sell wildlife last spring and it took a week for someone to return my call after leaving a message, all evidence had been removed/ covered up in the mean time meaning they couldn't pursue the case. It can be frustrating. I spend a lot of time in remote country that doesn't see a lot of other people, the amount of poaching and environmental destruction we see/ try to report a year is staggering. Relatively few convictions on our tips but a few is better than nothing so we keep trying.

[DonAndersen]

There is a cure available at the ballot box.

What we must always remember " If we didn't like it, we'd change".

Enforcement officers spend nearly all thier time dealing with people who now own a cell phone and call every time they see a bear. Remove cell phones and let the Bears eat the idiots and we'd have more boots on the ground.

 

Don

[cgyguy]

Sounds like a simple solution Don LOL!

 

Does anyone know what other States, Provinces, etc do to combat Poachers? Because this is a fishing site, I am relating only to poaching on the rivers and lakes, not necessarily animals (however, know it is a BIG concern). What are other places doing about this? Surely, there must be some alternatives to having our F&W Officers cover vast areas, and being understaffed? Is anyone aware of anything that could be offered in Alberta that would help alleviate this shortcoming? The simple answer is to hire more Officers, but that does not seem to be an option?

 

Cgyguy

[bigalcal]

I believe "Streamwatch" was an attempt at improving enforcement in some areas. It was a privately funded program that paid for a student from a Conservation program to patrol the rivers etc. It has seemed to have fallen to the wayside. This forum did a lot of fundraising for it.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[jtaylor]

It's funny ( not really) the few pictures you can find on Instagram of people poaching. I tend to leave #douchebag in the comments.