Fishermen busted for illegal use of live bait

During a patrol on Lake Carraízo on Sunday, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Ranger Corps personnel detected fishermen using live aquatic organisms as bait, which is prohibited by an agency administrative order. In one of the interventions, two men were caught fishing illegally and both were arrested after one of them attempted to flee but returned.

By The Star Staff

Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez announced on Wednesday that Ranger Corps personnel carried out several interventions over the weekend in the Carraízo Reservoir for the illegal use of live bait for fishing.

“Personnel from the Ranger Corps carried out several interventions in Carraízo Reservoir as part of the preventive rounds to supervise fishing in the reservoir and ensure compliance with current laws and regulations,” Quiles said in a written statement.

During Sunday’s patrol, the watchstanders detected fishermen using live aquatic organisms as bait, which is prohibited by Administrative Order 2013-17. In one of the interventions, two men were caught fishing illegally. One tried to flee, but then returned for his partner and both were arrested.

In another intervention, in an area of the reservoir near Caguas, the agents surprised two additional fishermen who were using the same illegal tactic to capture species such as guapote (jaguar cichlid) and tucunaré (peacock bass). In this case, the fishermen involved managed to escape.

All subjects of the intervention were given guidance on the violations committed, and the cases will be referred to the DNER’s Office of Legal Affairs for evaluation.