Two fishermen were ticketed Sunday morning after they were found to have introduced “aquatic invasive species” into Lake George during a bass fishing tournament, officials said. The two men were charged with violating a Lake George Park Commission regulation that bars introduction of invasive species into the lake when evidence of Eurasian milfoil was found on their boat trailers.
One was also ticketed for violating a state law that bans transportation of water chestnuts.
Their names were not released. Both men were released pending prosecution in Ticonderoga Town Court.
They were charged after non-native material was found on their boat trailers at the Mossy Point state boat launch.
Two LGPC technicians were at the launch to inspect boats being launched by tournament participants, said Dave Wick, executive director of the park commission.
Boats began launching in the dark around 4:30 a.m. and the technicians used headlamps and flashlights to check them, but weren’t able to get to all of the boats, Wick said.
“It’s very chaotic at these pre-dawn launches,” Wick said. “We have to think of their safety first. They did the best they could.”
When they were looking at boat trailers later in the day, they noticed that two had vegetation on them that was confirmed to be milfoil and water chestnut.
Wick said the tournament organizers were informed before the event that boats would be inspected.
The tournament was part of the Northeast Team Bass Tournament schedule, which holds bass fishing tournaments around the state.
Tournament director Tracy Hanchett said anglers in the tournament had concerns about the inspections because they were told beforehand that boat and trailer washing would be offered to anyone whose boat was found to have evidence of invasive species.
Those who were ticketed, though, were not told before launch that their boats had evidence of invasive species and were not given the chance to have the boats and trailers washed before they launched, she said.
“These boats and trailers were inspected. If they were inspected and weren’t offered the opportunity to be washed, I don’t understand why they issued tickets,” Hanchett said.
Wick, though, said tourney organizers had a “misunderstanding” regarding what was to occur at the inspection. It was the boat owner’s responsibility to make sure the vessel was clean before launch, he said.
“They (park commission personnel) were there to make sure the boats were clean, not say, ‘Gotcha,’” Wick said.
Northeast Team Bass will hold six tourneys on six waters in the state this year, and Hanchett said only Lake George and Lake Champlain have inspectors checking boats for invasive species.
Ben Bramlage, director of law enforcement for the park commission, said the two were the first people charged under the Park Commission invasive species regulations.
Wick park commission staff were checking for water chestnut, a plant that can grow and thick mats and choke waterways.
The men who were ticketed face fines of up to $500 for violating the park commission regulation and up to $250 for the water chestnut violation.
The tickets are not related to a Park Commission plan to create a mandatory boat inspection procedure, which was passed by the commission last month but has not yet been enacted. Source is PostStar.com