Unusual haul of fish illegally caught in Georgia given to family in need, officials say

Caption

The legal daily fishing limit for catching bass on the Coosa River is 15, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources

An unusual wildlife seizure didn’t go to waste when Georgia wildlife officials gave the catch to a local family in need.

A pair of fishermen were cited after they caught 88 bass over the legal limit in the Coosa River, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division spokesperson Mark McKinnon told McClatchy News in an email. The Coosa River’s daily limit for bass is 15, McKinnon said.

A game warden patrolling part of the Coosa River in Floyd County spotted two fishermen and had a conversation with them, WSB-TV reported. Then, he discovered the massive haul of striped and white bass the fishers had caught, the outlet reported.

The fines for the 88 fish caught will be determined by Floyd County courts, McKinnon said. The bundle of fish was also seized by the game warden.

But instead of tossing out the bass after it was confiscated, the fish served a different purpose as a donation to a family in Floyd County.

Game wardens are aware of families in need or organizations that help those families in their areas, McKinnon said.

Confiscated wildlife donations aren’t limited to fish. Wardens can donate any wildlife they’ve seized from illegal harvesting, McKinnon said, as long as they can give the animal to someone before it has spoiled.

Citations for fishing over the limit can be somewhat common, but the 88-fish haul is “very high in comparison to other cases” and isn’t typical, he said.

Floyd County is along the Georgia-Alabama line and is about 80 miles northwest of Atlanta.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.