A "Legal" Fish Can Get You Pinched

A fishing report issued by a Shoreline tackle shop after the Connecticut fluke season closed September 5 advised that the Rhode Island and New York seasons remained open and that doormats were being landed off Montauk. Solid enough information but what was left out could get an angler who brought one of those doormats back to Connecticut in trouble with the state's EnCon Police, the guys we used to know as "game wardens." The regulations of the state in which you present while in possession of a fish, not just where you catch it, determines whether it is legal or not.

To make an analogy, a Connecticut permit to carry a handgun, does not make it legal for you to do so in New York or Rhode Island. Many Connecticut anglers who would not willingly break the law do not realize that fish caught legitimately in the waters of neighboring states may not necessarily be legal at the dock in Clinton or Stonington. Advisories from tackle shops and the media sometimes ignore this fact. Indeed, a recent article on fluke fishing in a major Connecticut newspaper failed to stress this point, says David Simpson, director of the Connecticut DEEP marine Fisheries Division. "It bothered me," he says.

Simpson notes that it can be difficult for anglers in our waters to err along maritime borders in Long Island Sound and adjacent waters. He is right. You can fish inside of Fishers Island within swimming distance of the Connecticut shore and be under the jurisdiction of New York. Similarly, there is an area just west of Rhode Island's Napatree Point and south of Stonington where you might literally dunk a line in three states from the same boat.

Contrary to what some anglers may believe, the states are not trying to make things difficult. They must set their harvest within a framework established by federal law and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the agency that coordinates marine fisheries management in 15 Atlantic coast states. The commission takes into account commercial needs -- some sportsmen argue unduly so -- as well as recreational interests.

Duck Stamps By Mail

After the early season for Canada geese opened September 1, I made the rounds of area post offices in quest of a federal duck stamp, so I could legally hunt waterfowl and other migratory birds. No success in Killingworth, Deep River, Madison and Guilford. A friend tried Durham with no luck but got one in Middlefield. One post office offered me last year's stamp, which meets requirements no better than having none at all. Typically, area post offices fail to order stamps in time or do not order enough of them.

There is a better way to get duck stamps. Go to www.fws.gov/duckstamps/stamps.htm. It is the web site of the Federal Duck Stamp Office. There you will find valuable information on obtaining duck stamps without having to make the post office tour, including a telephone number for purchasing by mail stamps of any kind from the United States Postal Service: 1-800-782-6724. It took a minute or so dealing with very pleasant people to get my stamp. What is more, you can order stamps well in advance of the season, avoiding the last-minute rush. The site also tells you how to order online.