EnCon Police Dog Saydee Helps Nab Anglers Violating Connecticut Fishing Laws: DEEP

A Labrador retriever recently trained in detecting illegally caught fish helped Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Environmental Conservation police catch two Bridgeport men violating state fishing regulations on the Housatonic River in Milford Friday, DEEP said.

Saydee is one of three EnCon dogs specially trained to detect certain sport fish like trout and striped bass regularly caught in Connecticut and search for places illegally caught fish may be hidden like vessels, shorelines and beneath rocks, DEEP said.

She helped find two striped bass that were smaller than regulation length, leading EnCon police to two men, Ronaldo Oliviera, 30, and Eber Macario, 60, both of Bridgeport who violated state fishing laws, DEEP said.

EnCon officers did a compliance check on the two men fishing on the Housatonic River in Milford on Friday night. While the men told them they didn't catch any fish, Saydee scoured the shoreline and found a black trash bag hidden in an embankment of rock, DEEP said.

The bag contained two striped bass 15 to 19 inches in length, which is smaller than the 28-inch minimum mandated in state law. Each angler is also only allowed to have on striped bass "to protect the resource."

EnCon police issued Oliviera a misdemeanor summons on charges of possession of a striped base and fishing without a license, according to DEEP. Macario was cited with an infraction of fishing without a license and given an $87 fine, DEEP said.

Oliviera was released on a written promise to appear in Milford Superior Court on May 21.

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