Why spend time passing laws if they will not be enforced?

Friday, June 5, 2009

Ms. Watters, first I would like to openly acknowledge that I operate a fishing charter business.

Thus, I have a vested interest in poaching cases like the ones you reference.

You mention one of two recent federal cases that were filed under the Lacy Act in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and in the same court in Maryland. The D.C. court sentenced the guilty parties to probation, despite the fact that under federal sentencing guidelines the prosecutors recommended an 18- to 24-month term of imprisonment due to the scope of the crime.

On the other hand, the case you reference was filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland resulting, in my opinion, in more appropriate punishment.

Although not noted in your letter, to me this shows how ridiculous the legal system has become in this country. Why spend time and resources to pass laws if they are not going to be enforced? Similarly the laws on the books for illegally crossing our borders are not enforced.

The most illogical parts of your letter are your conclusions — for example, your difficulty in understanding why watermen who sell more rockfish than their allotted quotas deserve years in jail or fines. Further, you note that a "more realistic sentence that fits the crime would also prevent the ruin of the local seafood economy and the inevitable ripple effect it is having."

Your general characterization that it was victimless crime is beyond my comprehension. First, poaching is without question a crime. If everybody poached, eventually there would be no more rockfish for the commercial watermen, fishing charters or recreational anglers. Second, you are concerned about the "ripple effect" on the local economy now. Ms. Watters, if law enforcement looks the other way on poaching crimes just see how you like the local economy then … it will not be a ripple, it will be a tsunami.

Mr. Watters, if you cannot comprehend why enforcing the laws and making people do the time or pay the price if they are caught and found guilty in a court of law, then I'm at a loss for words. Further, making these cases public serves as a deterrent to others who might commit these crimes.

You can only hope that those caught for poaching in the future will be prosecuted in D.C. or in Maryland state courts, where case history clearly reveals that they will get a slap on the hand despite the criminal raping of our scarce natural resources.

Capt. John Deering, Shady Side

The writer operates Shady Side Charters.