Lieutenant Sutton received a call from a confidential source claiming that he knew the whereabouts of a stolen tree stand, and the information on a suspect. The victim was directed to make a police report with Mansfield Police Department in Warren County, and Officers Holmes and Wren went out to the location given by the informant and located the very distinctive treestand. Officer Holmes worked along with a detective from Mansfield Police, and the suspect was interviewed and confessed to stealing the treestand. The treestand was returned to the victim, and the suspect was charged with hindering the lawful taking of wildlife by theft of personal property. Mansfield Police also charged the suspect with multiple criminal charges.

Officer Holmes was contacted while off duty by a hunter who claimed he had heard a gunshot while he was bow hunting, and then witnessed a deer being loaded into a vehicle on a neighboring property. Officer Holmes and Officer Paey responded from their residences and were able to locate blood and deer hair in the rear yard of the residence indicated. The son of the homeowner arrived home and admitted to shooting the deer with a recurve bow and dumping it on a local piece of Wildlife Management Area property because he does not have a license or permit and has never taken hunter education. Officers Holmes and Paey had the suspect bring them to the location where the deer was dumped, but there was no deer there, nor was there any evidence of a deer being there recently. The suspect was questioned further, and he admitted that he had shot the deer from his dad's house with a .35 caliber rifle. The suspect would not change his story about dumping the deer though, and claimed that he acted all alone. Summonses were issued for hunting without a license, no deer permit, no rifle permit, killing deer with a rifle, illegal missile for deer, possession of untagged/unregistered deer, hunting on Sunday, failure to register a deer on the date killed, and dumping on a WMA.

Officer Paey was patrolling West Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, when he saw a truck in front of him with multiple sets of skull capped deer antlers in the back. Officer Paey stopped the driver and questioned him about the antlers, which he had no documentation for at all. While Officer Paey was issuing the driver a summons for possession of untagged/unregistered deer parts, another vehicle drove past him hastily, with a large antlered deer on the rear carrier. Officer Paey proceeded to stop the driver, and determined that the harvest report had not been properly filled out. Therefore, the hunter was cited for failing to properly complete the deer tag "harvest report" immediately upon killing as prescribed by Game Code.

Officer Wren was patrolling Warren Township, Somerset County, on a weekday afternoon during Permit Bow season, when he noticed a permanent treestand in the rear yard of a residence. Officer Wren returned to the area later in the day and saw two hunters sitting in the treestand, both with bows. Officer Wren waited for the hunters to walk out after dark, and conducted a field inspection of their paperwork and equipment. Neither man had a license or permit, and both claimed that they had never taken hunter education. The men both stated that they didn't expect to be inspected where they were hunting and that they had hunted there many times before. Summonses were issued for hunting without licenses and permits.

Officer Holmes received a report of two hunters who had each posted Instagram pictures and messages about killing over the limit of antlered deer during the current bow and arrow season. Officer Holmes went to the residence of one of the suspects in Frelinghuysen Township, Warren County, and immediately saw the head of a freshly killed antlered deer in the yard. When he questioned the suspect about the deer parts, the suspect first claimed that he had found the deer dead in the woods and removed the head. After further questioning, the suspect admitted to shooting the deer earlier in the bow season and not tagging or registering it. Summonses were issued for failure to tag and failure to register a deer. Officer Holmes then went to the residence of the other suspect in Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, and saw a freshly killed 8-point deer hanging in the garage. When he questioned the homeowner about the deer, he claimed that it was killed by his uncle, who arrived a short time later. When Officer Holmes asked to see the paperwork for the deer, the uncle admitted that he had not yet bought his archery permit this year and had not tagged the deer. Summonses were issued for killing a deer without a valid permit and failure to tag and register a deer. Officer Holmes then finally got a chance to question the suspect about the initial complaint and show him the Instagram pictures. The suspect claimed that he had shot the one 8-point buck and was not able to find it. He claimed that he then shot another antlered deer, which he tagged and registered. After shooting the second antlered deer, the suspect claimed that he found the first deer dead in the woods and cut the head off of it and gave it to a "friend" of his who wanted a "nice skull" for his mantle. The suspect was never able to come up with valid information on the "friend", or the deer head. Summonses were issued for possession of untagged/unregistered deer parts and for transferring untagged/unregistered deer parts to another person.

Lieutenant Applegate was contacted by an investigator from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and asked to assist them with interviewing a NJ resident about his dealings with a guide service from Wyoming and Montana. Lieutenant Applegate and Officer Paey went to meet the suspect at his residence in West Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, on an evening during Permit Bow season. The suspect was not home, but the officers were greeted by a friend of his, who is a Connecticut resident, who was dressed in full camouflage with a face mask on, standing in the rear yard of the residence. The man claimed that he was not hunting, just watching deer. Officer Paey quickly located the man's bow and arrows on a woodpile in the yard, and the man admitted to hunting without a license or permit. The officers asked the man if he had killed any deer and he said "no", but said that he did have a shoulder mount in his truck that he had just picked up from the taxidermist. Lieutenant Applegate went to the truck with the suspect and looked at the mount, which the suspect claimed was shot in Connecticut. On the antler of the deer was a NJ metal possession seal from 2009-10, and nailed to the back of the mount was a NJ metal possession seal from 2008-09. Lieutenant Applegate questioned him about the seals and the suspect admitted to shooting the deer in 2008 with a muzzleloader without a license, permit or rifle permit, and having his friend, the person the officers had initially came to interview, tag and register it for him. Summonses were issued for hunting without a license, permit and rifle permit in 2008, hunting without a license and permit in 2013, and failure to properly tag and register a deer. The homeowner returned home and was interviewed for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which may lead to charges in their state. He was also issued summonses for improperly tagging and registering a deer for another person.

Officer Paey and Lieutenant Applegate responded to a report of a crossbow bolt found impaled in the side of a residence in High Bridge Boro, Hunterdon County. The resident claimed that the bolt could have been there for at least a week, since he had not been near that area of his house recently. The property behind the residence is town owned and is open to hunting, but no treestands or ground blinds were found in the area directly behind the house. The officers returned to the area the following morning, and located a vehicle with hunting equipment inside parked off of a nearby road. Officer Paey was able to locate the crossbow hunter, who was "walking and stalking" the trails on the town owned property. With the assistance of Lieutenant Sutton, Officer Paey was able to match the bolts and broad heads that the suspect was using to the bolt recovered from the residence. The suspect admitted that he had been hunting the property earlier in the week and had shot at a squirrel from the ground while "walking and stalking" in the area behind the house that was shot. Though the suspect was standing outside of the 150 foot safety zone, he fired directly at the plainly visible house. The suspect is a recent hunter education graduate and had just recently started crossbow hunting. Summonses were issued for discharging a crossbow without due caution and circumspection, and causing damage to the property of another person while hunting.

Northern Region Officers investigated a hunting accident recently involving a nine (9) year old boy who was struck with multiple fine shot pellets. The boy was struck in the nose and torso while walking with his father and twelve (12) year old brother who were hunting on a semi wild hunting club in Readington Township, Hunterdon County. The boy's injuries were not life threatening, but the pellets did break the skin through his clothes. Officers Paey, Wren and Kuechler, along with Lieutenant Applegate, were able to reconstruct the accident scene and determined who the shooter was. Summonses were issued for causing injury to another person through the negligent use of a firearm while hunting, and for causing damage to the property of another while hunting.

CO Szalaj and Lt. Lacroix, after a random check of the AHRS database, investigated a man who checked in an antlerless deer on the first day of the permit bow season without a valid permit. During questioning, the man also admitted that he had previously called in a fake buck on his son's license so that he would have a confirmation number, "in case he found a road kill or got another buck later." He was also unable to provide the doe's head when requested. CO Szalaj issued summonses to the father for hunting without a permit, failing to show a deer head upon request and checking a deer he did not kill.

Officers from District 3 made a number of good cases on the opening day of the pheasant season on the Assunpink and Medford WMA's. CO's Mascio and Martiak and Lt. Lacroix issued five summonses for hunting prior to the legal start time of 8:00 am. Two of the hunters were loaded and shooting at pheasants as early as 6:30 am. CO Martiak, with the assistance of undercover Marine Region officers Fresco and Harp, charged one individual with shooting across a roadway and hunting without a license. CO Mascio charged another two individuals with shooting across a roadway and careless discharge after witnessing them shoot at a pheasant while they were standing 27 feet from the road. Three summonses were also issued by CO's Mascio and Martiak for manner and means, uncased firearm in a vehicle and procuring a resident's license wrongfully. CO Szalaj issued a summons for a safety zone violation at the Medford WMA.

CO Martiak received information that several individuals were observed illegally hunting on the Rutgers Ecological Preserve in Piscataway. With the assistance of CO Wren of the Northern Region, he was able to apprehend all three hunters trespassing for the purpose of hunting. One of the hunters also did not possess the proper bow permit for that zone (36). During the investigation, CO Wren discovered that the hunter had checked in a buck earlier that day and claimed that it had been harvested in Franklin Township, Somerset County. Under questioning by CO Martiak, the man admitted that the deer had been killed on the Rutgers Ecological Preserve in Piscataway. All three individuals were charged with trespassing for the purpose of hunting and one of the individuals was charged with hunting without a permit. CO Wren is pursuing additional charges for the violations in his patrol area.

The Central Region Office received complaints from a hunter and a horseback rider about a pickup truck driving through a standing soybean field on the Assunpink WMA. Capt. Herrighty responded to the scene and stopped the truck while it was still in the soybeans. The operator of the vehicle was driving with a suspended driver's license. The owner of the vehicle was in the passenger seat. He admitted that he had also been driving in the field. Regional Superintendent Ray Porutski and Supervising Wildlife Biologist Dan Ferrigno arrived on scene to assist. They inspected the 11-acre field and found significant damage to the crop. They contacted the farmer who they later met at the scene along with CO Martiak. The farmer estimated there was over $2,000.00 worth of damage. Several days later CO Martiak charged both individuals criminally with knowingly or recklessly causing damage to tangible property. Since the damage was over $2000, it became a crime of the third degree. They were also issued summonses for careless driving and driving off the established road on a State WMA. The one man was also charged with driving while suspended. He was also subsequently arrested on an outstanding warrant and transported to the Monmouth County jail.

CO Martiak received information that a deer had been killed in a snare in a wooded area behind warehouses in North Brunswick Twp., Middlesex County. The informant met him and showed him the snare. The informant also mentioned seeing a tractor in the woods. Thinking the tractor might be related to the snare, CO Martiak asked the informant to show him the tractor. CO Martiak was thinking he would be shown a riding lawn mower. He was shown a $100,000.00 John Deere Model 7600 tractor. The VIN number was run through NCIC and it was found that the tractor was reported stolen from the Middlesex County Fairgrounds in East Brunswick this past July. East Brunswick detectives arrived on scene and processed the tractor. They then contacted the owner, a local farmer. He arrived and drove his tractor out of the woods. Middlesex County has a huge problem with stolen farm and construction equipment. The stolen equipment is hidden in warehouses and wooded areas and later put in containers and shipped overseas.

Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in Jackson Township, Ocean County, is heavily used by pheasant hunters throughout the small game season. During the past seasons several hunting accidents have occurred. Summonses have been issued for unsafe hunting activity such as discharging firearms from or across roads. Chief Chicketano assigned CO McManus to develop an enforcement plan to promote safe hunting on the opening day of the 2013 pheasant season. CO McManus's plan was as follows:

Colliers Mills is unique in that most of the hunters enter and exit the WMA at one location. From 6:00 am to 7:30 am, Chief Chicketano and Lt. Szulecki were stationed at this location. They greeted each vehicle as it entered the WMA. They told the hunters to be safe, enjoy their hunt and advised them that there will be undercover Conservation Officers hunting amongst them. Land Management Crew Supervisor Bill Torry provided each vehicle with a map of Colliers Mill showing where the pheasants were stocked. This was done in an attempt to spread out the hunters. 215 vehicles were greeted during this time period. While the vehicles were being greeted, CO McManus and Capt. Herrighty patrolled the WMA to prevent early hunting.

Marine Region COs Moscatiello and Klitz were assigned as undercover hunters. They were to report violations to the uniformed officers and take enforcement action only when necessary. They did observe a hunter shoot and take quail. The quail season is closed on this WMA. They advised a uniformed officer of this violation and the hunter was subsequently apprehended

The operation ended at about 11:30 am. A total of 66 hunters were inspected. An additional summons was issued to a hunter for failing to wear a minimum of 200 square inches of fluorescent hunter's orange. Verbal warnings were given for failing to display hunting licenses and for failing to exhibit a pheasant stamp. Officers also intervened when they observed unsafe situations. Hunters were redirected when they were hunting towards roads or other hunters. There were favorable comments received from hunters.

Also on the opening day of pheasant season, CO Riviello and COs Scott, Soell and Lt. Dravis of the Marine Region patrolled Manasquan, Manahawkin, Greenwood Forest and Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Areas. Approximately 140 hunters were inspected. No summonses were issued but some hunters received verbal warnings for hunting early and failing to display or sign hunting licenses.

CO McManus assisted the Ocean County ASPCA with a search warrant that they were executing in Manchester Township. The warrant was part of a previous investigation by the ASPCA concerning the illegal poisoning of domestic cats. While investigating the complaint one of their officer's found an illegal steel-jaw leg hold trap which was set at the suspect's residence. He told officers that his neighbor had given him the trap. The warrant was issued to search the neighbor's house for poison which may have been used on the cats and for additional leg hold traps. Neither was found. CO McManus issued the original suspect two summonses, one for the possession and one for the use of a steel-jaw leg hold trap.

Conservation Officer Stites received information that a deer was harvested illegally in Pilesgrove Township, Salem County. The following day CO's Stites and Trembley interviewed a farmer and his worker. The worker admitted to shooting the deer unlawfully without a license or a permit and with a firearm during archery season. CO Stites charged the hunter with hunting without a firearm license, not possessing a deer permit, using a firearm during the archery season and for possessing an illegal missile.

Conservation Officer's Stites and Trembley attended the November meeting of the Salem County Sportsmen Federation Meeting held at the Salem County Sportsmen Club.

Conservation Officer Trembley received an illegal hunting complaint from Trenton Dispatch. CO Trembley responded to the Gumtree Corner Wildlife Management Area in deer management zone 29, a trophy zone in Stow Creek Township, Cumberland County. He located the hunter's vehicle and apprehended the hunter with a four pointer exiting the woods. The hunter confessed to harvesting a sub legal deer and provided a written statement. CO Trembley issued a summons for harvesting a deer without the required antler points and seized the deer.

Conservation Officer Toppin worked the opening day of pheasant season in the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in Glassboro, Gloucester County. After receiving complaints over the past years of early hunting, he observed several parties in the same field hunting and it appeared to be unsafe so he conducted an inspection. One hunter did not have the required hunter orange or a valid hunting license. The hunter was charged with hunting without a license and a written warning for not wearing the required amount of orange.

Conservation Officer Toppin received a complaint of late waterfowl hunting from a homeowner along Timber Creek in Gloucester City, Camden County. CO Toppin located the hunters and conducted a field interview. The hunters admitted to hunting late. Each hunter was issued a summons for hunting waterfowl after sunset and not possessing state waterfowl stamps. They were also issued warnings for not possessing personal floatation devices.

Conservation Officer Toppin conducted patrols in the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area and the Winslow Wildlife Management area in Gloucester and Camden Counties during the permit archery season. He located four hunters in deer zones 55 and 65. None of the deer hunters purchased the permit archery permits for their respective zones. CO Toppin issued a summons to each hunter for hunting without the required archery permit.

Conservation Officer Toppin attended the Camden County Federation Meeting at the Square Circle Sportsmen Club.

Conservation Officer Kille investigated a seven point buck harvested during the permit archery season in Gibbstown, Gloucester County. A records check of the electronic licensing system indicated that the hunter did not have an archery permit. CO Kille interviewed the hunter at his residence where he admitted to hunting without a permit, failing to register the deer and not possessing the required buck stub permit. CO Kille issued summonses for failing to register a deer as required by law and for hunting without an archery permit.

Conservation Officer Kille received a complaint in Gibbstown, Gloucester County referencing a hunter harassment and trespass complaint on the DuPont property. A seven point buck was harvested on posted property and dragged over another hunter's bait pile, all of which was caught on a trail camera. The hunter checked the deer as a kill in Harrison Township, Gloucester County. During the interview, the hunter admitted to not checking the deer as required by law and to hunter harassment. The hunter was issued a warning for hunter harassment and for trespassing for the purpose of hunting. Furthermore, he was issued a summons for failing to check a deer properly.

Conservation Officer's Kille and Vazquez patrolled together in Franklin Township, Gloucester County when they observed a hunter with a firearm during the permit archery season. He crossed the road from one farm to his suspected residence. The officers attempted to make contact with the hunter. His wife denied three different times he was home. So, the officers called the residence while the wife hung the day's laundry. The husband answered the phone while the officers were in the driveway and stated that he was in the residence. During an interview, the hunter admitted to hunting non-game animals, hunting within 450' of an occupied dwelling, and hunting without hunter's orange. CO Vazquez issued summons for interference with the duties of a conservation officer and hunting without the required amount of hunter's orange.

Conservation Officer Kille received information about an on-going hunter harassment complaint in Gibbstown, Gloucester County. A hunter reported that his deer hunting equipment was stolen from the farm he has permission to hunt. CO's Kille and Trembley interviewed the alleged thief who resides close by. The suspect admitted to the theft of four deer stands, climbing sticks and a digital camera. CO Kille issued one summons for theft of real property under the hunter harassment law

Conservation Officer Kille received information about late waterfowl hunting on Birch Creek in Gibbstown, Gloucester County. There were two groups hunting Birch Creek. The first group stopped early as the second group continued to hunt well after hours. One individual even yelled to the hunters and told them to stop. Their reply was several curse words and they told him to mind his own business. So, the hunter provided CO Kille the vehicle registration and description of the hunters. CO Kille and a police officer from Greenwich Township conducted an interview of the suspected late waterfowl hunters, a brother and sister. CO Kille issued summonses for hunting without a license and for hunting waterfowl after sunset.

On the opening day of the south waterfowl season, Conservation Officer Fox apprehended a hunter who has been a constant source of complaints from other sportsmen. CO Fox set up surveillance in Hamilton Township, Atlantic county. When the shooting had stopped, CO Fox drove into a parking lot of a gun club as two waterfowl hunters began to exit the woods. Upon seeing CO Fox, the hunters turned and ran into the woods. CO Fox chased them but they had a good head start and were able to elude him. CO Fox returned to the parking lot as a truck pulled up that was driven by the father of one of the hunters. He was able to call and convince his son to come out of hiding. The hunters were charged with over the limit of wood ducks, taking a Canada goose during the closed season, failing to exhibit a hunting license, failing to sign a waterfowl stamp and interference with the duties of a Conservation Officer.

Conservation Officer James responded to a hunting accident on the opening day of small game season. The accident occurred on a newly acquired property attached to Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area in Upper Township, Cape May County. Two hunters were rabbit hunting when one hunter was struck in the neck with a pellet. The victim and his hunting partner drove themselves to Shore Memorial hospital for treatment and the victim was eventually airlifted to Cooper Medical Center in Camden. The injury turned out to be minor so the victim was treated with a band-aide and released. Officer James was notified of the incident by the Woodbine State Police after the subjects were already at the hospital. Lt. Risher arrived at Cooper Hospital and interviewed the victim and his hunting partner. The next morning, CO James and Lt. Ely met the two subjects at the scene to reconstruct the accident. Initially, both subjects were angry and uncooperative because they did not believe that one shot the other and they stated that some other hunter must have done it. They eventually accompanied the two officers into the thick brush to attempt to reconstruct the scene. After a couple of hours, the spent shell was found and then numerous pellet strikes were discovered between the shooter and victims respective positions. It became clear to all that the one hunter had accidentally shot his friend. The investigation is continuing and a decision will be made as to which charges are filed.

Conservation Officer James made a good trespassing case on the Cape May County Airport property. Maintenance workers found a hole in the fence that led to a treestand and bait pile. CO James and Lt. Ely gained access and found a trail camera which contained pictures of the hunter placing the bait and carrying the treestand. By asking around and showing the photograph of the subject to local police, CO James was able to identify the hunter. Upon arriving at his house, the hunter quickly confessed. He had underestimated the seriousness of accessing an airport through a hidden hole in the fence. He was issued a summons for criminal trespass and for trespassing for the purpose of hunting.

On the opening day of small game season, Conservation Officer Fox and Lt. Ely got simultaneous phone calls regarding hunters shooting over an hour early on the Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, Cape May County. Lt. Ely responded first and was told that there were two hunters at opposite ends of the WMA who had shot early. Lt. Ely found the first hunter in the woods with a pheasant in his bag and it was still 55 minutes before legal hunting time. The hunters at the other end of the WMA were identified by other hunters on the scene. Both parties accused the other of shooting first and believing that the gunshots signified legal starting time. CO Fox arrived shortly thereafter and issued summonses for hunting before legal hours.

Lt. Ely responded to a request for assistance at 4:00 a.m. from Millville Police Department, Cumberland Co. They had stopped a person who had a freshly killed deer in his truck box. The Millville PD had gotten a call from Wawa that there was a large pool of blood in their parking lot at 3:00 a.m. After watching the surveillance video, Millville officers identified the vehicle that had left the blood. When they arrived at the house, the driver produced a deer out of the truck box. Millville officers contacted Lt. Ely who responded. The subject claimed that he had been out "looking for deer" at night when he came across this freshly killed one on some remote power lines. He acknowledged that he did have two shotguns and two spotlights in the car but he didn't use them to kill this deer. The amount of blood at Wawa and in the subject's driveway indicated that the deer had been freshly killed. The subject did not back down on his story of "finding" the deer until Officers Kille and Trembley arrived. They questioned the driver and his brother, who was also identified in the Wawa video. Upon learning that the brother had recently served 25 years for murder, the officers advised the driver that his brother would face a return to prison if implicated in these violations. The driver then asked to speak to Lt. Ely in private and gave a full confession. He said that he shot the deer at about 2:00 a.m. and then went home and picked up his brother who accompanied him to Wawa for doughnuts, which was confirmed by Wawa. The driver was issued summonses for hunting deer during a closed season, hunting after legal hours, hunting with the aid of a light, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle and for possessing of illegal missiles.

A night clamming case was recently adjudicated in Belmar Municipal Court, Monmouth County. The case was investigated by CO's Klitz and Scott this past summer and involved three individuals harvested 1500 clams from prohibited waters. The subjects were previously charged with not possessing a shellfish license, clamming at night and condemned water summonses. The three subjects plead guilty to the charges and paid a penalty and court costs totaling $833.00 each.

On November 8th CO Klitz was patrolling the "canal" in Point Pleasant Boro, Ocean County. After setting up surveillance on a group of fishermen targeting tautog, CO Klitz noted several of the men keeping sub-legal and over the limit tautog. The men were observed tossing the fish into the weeds and brush behind them. Lt. Dravis was called to assist in the apprehension. The men told the officers that they had approximately 10 to 14 tautog in a bag. The individual was told to retrieve the bag and the officers advised that if any additional were found they would be charged with interference. Another individual then retrieved an additional two bags containing fish. CO Klitz made a final sweep of the area and found several other bags of fish including a large trash bag containing several stringers full of additional tautog. In total, the five men had 56 tautog. Only three of which were in excess of the legal size of 15". The men were each issued court mandatory summonses for possession of 53 short tautog and possession of 51 tautog over the daily possession limit.

On 10/24/13 CO Martiak contacted CO Moscatiello with information regarding a local supermarket located in East Brunswick, Middlesex County, selling undersized black sea bass. CO Moscatiello conducted a market inspection and located 20 black sea bass which were smaller than the legal commercial sale size limit of 11 inches. CO Moscatiello issued two summonses for the sale undersized black sea bass.

While conducting surveillance of the Two Mile Jetty in Lower Twp., Cape May County, CO Tomlin and CO Swift observed two groups of fishermen keeping undersize tautog and exceeding the bag limit on tautog. One group of three individuals was fishing from the jetty. Another group of two individuals was fishing from a boat next to the jetty. After two hours of observation, CO Tomlin inspected the group of three fishermen as they were leaving the jetty. The group of three possessed 17 tautog over the daily limit, 11 undersize tautog, and 3 mutilated tautog that were partially consumed prior to CO Tomlin's inspection. CO Swift inspected the two individuals in the boat when they returned to the Spicers Creek boat ramp. These two individuals possessed 21 tautog, over the daily limit and 12 undersize tautog. Summonses were issued to each fisherman for possessing over limit and undersized tautog.

Conservation Officers charged two men for illegally growing and harvesting oysters for human consumption in a Cape May County creek classified as "prohibited" to the harvest of shellfish. The two men were charged criminally with harvesting oysters from a raft constructed for the purpose of raising and housing oysters in the "prohibited" waters of Dias Creek in Middle Township after Conservation Officers observed oysters removed from the raft and transported to an oyster dealership owned by one of the men in the Rio Grande section of Middle Township. In an effort to prevent potentially contaminated oysters from being consumed, Conservation Officers seized approximately 220,000 oysters from the raft in Dias Creek, the majority of which were market size. An additional 150,000 oysters were seized from a nearby location in waters classified as "approved" where the men allegedly transplanted oysters grown on the raft. Penalties for the offense carry a maximum of 30 days imprisonment, $500 fine and a mandatory 3 year suspension of license to harvest shellfish. The owner of the oyster dealership was also charged by the NJ Department of Health after the investigation revealed shellfish sanitation and handling violations at his oyster dealership.

After observing activity on the Barnegat Light jetty for two hours, CO Swift covertly made his way out to inspect two pairs of fishermen taking undersize and over the limit tautog. After walking past the first pair of fishermen and taking a rough count of the tautog in their cooler, CO Swift made his way to an adjacent pair of violators. As CO Swift attempted to identify himself to the two fishermen from the second group, but each fisherman threw a plastic bag containing tautog into the water. CO Swift managed to retrieve both bags and recovered 15 tautog and as CO Swift was counting the tautog in the plastic bags, the first pair of fishermen observed by CO Swift attempted to dump 10 tautog out of their cooler. As CO Swift diverted his attention to stop the cooler from being dumped, the original fishermen CO Swift inspected attempted throw their fish on CO Swift a second time. After gaining control and gathering everyone's identification, CO Swift issued 16 summonses for over the limit tautog, undersize tautog, wanton waste of marine finfish, interference with the duties of a Conservation Officer, and littering.

Lieutenant O'Rourke completed the New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice Firearms Instructor Class. This five day Police Training Commission approved course taught the fundamentals of firearms instruction, including range safety, weapons procedures, and range operation. Also included were the fundamentals of the Attorney Generals Re-qualification Guidelines.

Captain Leonard and Officer Fox attended a patrol rifle workshop at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area given by the Burlington County Police Academy. This block of instruction examined the contemporary role of the rifle by law enforcement officers. Shooting fundamentals, operational skills, equipment selection and ammunition capabilities were discussed. Students participated in a number of challenging live fire drills, which included movement, less than optimum light, multiple threats, and firing from non-typical positions.

Deputy Chief Brown, Captain Leonard and Lieutenant O'Rourke attended the Master Instructor development course given by the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearm Instructors at the Black River Wildlife Management Area. The IALEFI Master Instructor development program is not a "shooting school" per se, but rather an experience to make you a better communicator in imparting critical survival skills. It is specifically designed for individuals already certified as firearms instructors to continue their education. Focus was on the enhancement of teaching skills on the three primary law enforcement weapon systems---handgun, shotgun and rifle. Individuals who are recognized subject matter experts in their respective disciplines provided a full day of instruction on each system.

Conservation Officers completed their quarterly firearm requalification this month. In addition to completing the Attorney General's required course all officers were tested on the International Association of Firearms Instructors handgun standards.

Officers from the Bureau of Law Enforcement along with personnel from the Wildlife Control Unit completed their quarterly scoped rifle qualification this month.