I just got out of federal court and wanted to share my amazement of something.  I represent a local marina which plead guilty (as a corporation) to one count of violating 16 USC 3372 and 3373, which, for those who care, criminalizes certain transportation and sale of certain wildlife.  Long story short, in this case, my client and it's employees (two of whom plead guilty as well) illegally transported rockfish across state lines.  Some of the rock had been improperly tagged or not tagged at all.  The illegal "contraband" was seized in another state and have been on ice in federal custody for five years. I think the total was 22 fish.

At any rate, my amazement involves the actual "raid" of the marina.  Mind you, this was not a criminal operation.  They dropped the ball and about 22 fish were transported illegally, however, these were just fisherman who otherwise were just operating a business.  There was no other criminal activity, no one had records, no evidence anyone was armed, no evidence of criminals harbored, no evidence of spitting on the sidewalk, microwaving puppies, jaywalking . . . you get the picture.  Despite this, the federal fisheries agents donned full on spec-op gear- MP-5s, head gear, black uniforms, knee pads, FLIR (OK, just kidding about the FLIR), etc.  

WHY?  WHY WOULD FISHERY AGENTS INVESTIGATING ILLEGAL TRANSPORT OF FISH NEED TO RAID THE MARINA LIKE IT WAS A CRACK HOUSE?

I'm convinced that agencies now adays are tactical-happy and kinda go overboard.  The agents I dealt with are really nice guys but, geez, was all that sh*t really necessary?  

BTW, the questions are, of course, rhetorical.

WHY WOULD FISHERY AGENTS INVESTIGATING ILLEGAL TRANSPORT OF FISH NEED TO RAID THE MARINA LIKE IT WAS A CRACK HOUSE?

Fishery Agents?
I would say that the raid was the most fun that they have had in years.

Just hearing them announce FISHERY AGENTS we have a warrent would have me ROTHLMAO.

Sounds like a "hake crime" to me.  There oughtta be a law against those.

They did a pre-dawn raid here in Maryland a few years ago for the same type of thing, only undersized fish.

They loaded up 4 helicopters with 10 jackbooted thugs each and raided the homes of 4 members of a local fishing club.  Tore their homes apart for hours while the men and their families stood in the cold morning air in their sleepware.

What did they find?  A few undersized Rockfish.

Thank God nobody got killed, but imagine the cost of that operation?  For fish!

Justifying their own jobs, while getting to play JBT just like the rest of the fed agencies do.

I can't wait for some govt. lackey to create the Latrine Enforcement Team (LET) whose sole job is to do dynamic entries on the homes of people that have illegally modified their post ban toilets to use 3 gallons of water per flush.

When are people going to say enough already?

Cible, "hake crime", LMAO. :)

Like Imbrog|io said. They spend major bucks on the gear and training, so they need to justify the cost by making use of it. Fvck them, it's time their budget was slashed. This shit is getting out of hand.

FISHERY agents???  There is a FISHERY SWAT TEAM out there??? What are they afraid of, people armed with worms and hooks for cryin out loud??

This sounds like a good career path for the Mall Ninja's.

Seriously, I've also heard that there are many EPA swat teams out there. THE EPA!!!!

Can you say "Standing Army"???

Lord help us!

ROTFLMFAO,SAPMP!

Believe it or not, almost every gov't agency has a SWAT (or HRT or what ever you want to call it) team. Even the education department... And yes, they existed long before the rash of school shootings...
[uzi]

I wonder if my pre-ban Jigmaster reel is worth more than the new ones?

Steve,
You're BS'ing me!!! Aren't you???
F#CK where do I sign to join the "FISH POLICE"?
I want to play with HK MP5's and I like protecting wildlife, and I'm sure I'm in better physical shape than many of the beer gutted Game and Wildlife fuzz I've seen.

Steve they didn't really have MP5's on a fish raid? Tell me you're pulling my leg.

If it's true then yeah you're right the cops have gone SWAT crazy, every agency.

And I've gone AW crazy just to keep the balance of power more even because a bunch of peasants armed with bolt action .22's and .410 single shots don't have a chance against a Police State with milspec weapons.

Me I do have chance, but Fish Police with submachine guns? WTF?!?!?!?

Drew,

That's right, MP-5s.  Hey, sometimes those commercial fishermen can be dangerous . . .

So, you think you got what it takes?  You have to be able to clear a room AND gut a flounder, scale a rock, and rig a drop line all at the same time . . . you think you got the gills to handle that tough guy?

Uh, are you sure it wasn't just for the halibut?

Steve,
Gimme an MP5 and a badge, and no fish will be safe. I got the gills, got the fins, got the scales, got that COLD BLACK EYE THAT STARES AT YOU....DEVOID OF SOUL....AS I CIRCLE IN FOR THE KILL....WHILE THE VICTIM SLOWLY BLEEDS AND DRIFTS INTO UNCONSIOUSNESS.....ONLY TO BE TORN TO SHREDS BY RAZOR SHARP TEETH.....FLESH TEARING....BONES CRACKING......NO ONE TO HEAR THE SCREAMS......

Yep I think I'll fit in just fine.

Oh my Cod, not another raid by Fishery Agents! Those bassturds! Walleye hope they didn't catch anyone fingerin' their flounder.

Steve,

By federal fiheries agents, you mean the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, right?  And let me guess, since it was across state lines it became a federal matter because of the interstate commerce clause, right?

Right- their offices are in Richmond.  Yes, shipped and nabbed on Highway 13, just over the Maryland border so that interstate commerce was affected.

Drew,  you sound rocked and loaded . . . hardee har har, get it, "rocked and loaded" . . . OK, it wasn't really funny.  NoSheep and SUNDOGs' were funnier.  BTW, NoSheep, I hope your handle is not some sort of morbid reference to a youthful indescretion wherein you overindulged in some form of sheep beastiality?  If so, shouldn't it be NoMoreSheep? :)

Fishery Agents?  Damn, I better check my fridge for illegal fish.  I don't want them busting into my house for some damn fish!

There is something like 40 Federal agencies that are armed the teeth.  Swat teams, counter insurgency, you name it.  Off the top of my head:

FEMA
FBI
CIA
NSA
IRS
USPS
BATF
HUD
FAA
DEA
OSHA
Dept. of Energy
Dept. of Education
Dept. of Agriculture
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Marshalls Service
Army Corps of Engineers
Bureau of Land Management
National Park Service

Today, there are nearly 60,000 federal agents trained and authorized to enforce the over 3,000 criminal laws Congress has passed over the years, plus the hundreds of thousands of regulations which now carry criminal penalties.

"Good grief, that's a standing army," said Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America. "It's outrageous."

According to a recent report from the General Accounting Office, as of last September, the number of law enforcement personnel stood at just under 50,000 -- distributed through 45 agencies -- an increase of about 12,000 agents in 10 years with 2,436 added in 1996 alone. These are full-time agents, authorized to execute searches, make arrests, and/or carry firearms "if necessary."

But that number is not complete. When some 7,145 Customs inspectors and 317 Customs Department pilots are added -- all of whom have the above listed law enforcement powers -- the total is pushing 60,000. Why doesn't the GAO count them? Not because they aren't armed and dangerous, but because they have different retirement benefits.

Here's a good article on it [url]http://www.comeandtakeit.com/natlcops.html[/url]

Actually gus, the EPA gets into more than you think.  Organized crime gets into illegal dumping quite a bit.  Garbage, asbestos, hazardous waste.  The mob makes a high profit, because they do not process it legally, they just dump it somewhere.
But then again, even the FBI couldn't go armed until when, '32?

The next thing you know, they'll want to LICENSE our right to fish!

I'm surprized they didn't insert using dreagers and blow the fishing boats with limpets. The majority of these LEO fags just want to run around and play SEAL (see: Walter Mitty) until the sh*t hits the fan. As for the LEO's who will reply negatively to this post, you clowns are just as guilty because you accept this assenine behavior from your peer group. I would endorse a bill to OUTLAW the use of military and or paramilitary equipment/weapons by any law enforcement agency. Rant over for now [:)] I feel a little better

Cible,

They did.  For me to fish in MD, I had to have a license.  Paid $20.00 for the taxe stamp and out to fish for one year.

Full gear and MP5's cause they were bored and needed to justify that their dept should have em. Hell those fishermen have them dangerous hooks, filets knives and such.

You think Fish and Game is armed. I hear the BLM guys have assault rifles now to. Yes folks, ranger Bob is armed with a FA to fight of rabid squirrels. So don't go setting camp fires where you're not supposed to. They have FLIRS also.

[done with sarcasm now]

Is the coffee burning?

Thank god for such Law Enforcement. Can you imagine the damage a teenager could do carrying a concealed swordfish!? God help us! Glad my tax dollars are hard at work!

ROTFLMAO [:D]

Ha Ha....NoSheep

Hey! i'm a state officer! A Constable elected by the people! don't insult me by calling federal Jack Boots my peers! i actually have to answer to my public at election times! I get held accountable every few years! unlike the over anctious federal agents who remain safely anonomous when they f*** up!

[>Q].......oops,,, I pissed my shorts.


I have a Pre-ban Zebco, am I still legal?

For the agents using the Draegers playing SEAL, I have an old crank running under my pier.

I don't care about them finding frozen fish in the fridge, as long as they leave cousin Aldo in the crisper, I could care less.

This is too funny.

I think all of this is Crappie!

No sh*t! They have Fisheries commandos? I would feel like a f*cking idiot getting all dressed up to go check someone's freezer.

Is there a spool capacity limit for how much line you can have?

Preban/postban?

Too much line would be unfair to the fish.

The more I think about this story, the more disturbing it becomes. And then I remembered the woman that picked up an eagle feather and almost ended up in jail.

You remember that woman who ALLEGES that she just "picked up" an eagle feather.  How the hell did the law catch up with her?  She did something publicly with that feather that she wasn't allowed to do.  More at 11:00....