East Greenwich angler also charged with obstructing an officer and resisting arrest
PROVIDENCE – The Division of Law Enforcement (DLE) cited an East Greenwich man Tuesday for taking 21 tautog – more than twice the daily possession limit for a recreational angler – the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced. The number of fish illegally taken does not include the tautog that Lary C. Norin, of 16 River Run in East Greenwich, allegedly dumped from a bucket into Wickford Cove even as Environmental Police Officer (EPO) Harold Guise repeatedly ordered Norin not to.
EPO Guise approached Norin's boat to board after Norin docked it at the Wickford Cove Marina. With Norin allegedly refusing to answer basic questions and walking away from the boat, EPO Guise questioned Norin's two companions who remained aboard. One of the two men said the group had been out fishing and had a limit of tautog. EPO Guise saw that there appeared to be more than the legal limit of 10 fish aboard and asked Norin to return to his boat.
Norin stepped back on board and allegedly picked up a bucket of live fish and dumped them overboard. EPO Guise gave repeated commands to stop, which Norin ignored. After Norin failed to comply with EPO Guise's verbal commands to be placed in custody, Guise arrested him. DLE charged Norin with counts of exceeding the possession limit of tautog, obstruction of an officer, and resisting arrest and cited Norin for improper display of his boat registration.
All 21 tautog were returned alive to the wild.
"Rhode Island's natural resources such as saltwater fisheries are a public trust, and I am always grateful for the efforts and actions of our Environmental Police Officers who safeguard that trust," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "In this instance, Officer Guise deserves great credit for a difficult job well done."
"When a poacher takes so many fish above the legal daily limit, he's stealing from all anglers," said Steve Medeiros, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association. "We appreciate and support RIDEM Division of Law Enforcement's efforts to enforce marine fisheries laws."
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