County Says Fish, Game Patrols Are Inadequate

Overworked wardens and crippled patrol boats have caused a steep drop in fish and game law enforcement in Orange County, and a drop of up to 60% in fines for violations, county officials say.

Ken Scattergood, a county Environmental Management Agency official, said in a report to be considered by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the county Fish and Game Commission believes there is “an inadequate level of patrol and enforcement activities in Orange County.”

Hit by Budget Cuts

State officials agree but say budget cuts have forced them to cut back on personnel and equipment.

The five-member commission, which advises the supervisors, said that until July of 1985 the state Department of Fish and Game had four wardens and one lieutenant patrolling bays along the coast, and five wardens and one lieutenant patrolling ocean waters up to three miles off the coast.

Since then, the number of wardens has been reduced to six and there is only one lieutenant, the commission said. Additionally, three of the six warden positions were vacant until recently.

The wardens inspect commercial and sport-fishing boats to enforce rules on the maximum number of fish caught, tackle used, size of fish and possession of fishing licenses.

The county uses some of the fines collected to pay for the propagation and conservation of fish and game within its borders. It also contributes money to the state Department of Fish and Game to help pay for enforcement.

Scattergood’s report said that the commissioners were upset to learn that since 1985 the skiff used by the wardens at Newport Bay has been out of service because of a blown engine and there apparently is no money to replace the engine.

The Dana Point patrol boat, the Barracuda, was out of service for more than three months last summer while a blown transmission and broken propeller were being replaced, even though the county contributed more than $15,000 for new engines and other repairs only a year earlier, the report said.

Drop Seen in Fines

Scattergood said in an interview that the county collected about $15,000 in fines in the fiscal year that ended last July 1. This fiscal year the county had expected to take in about $19,000, but now it estimates the total at only $8,000.

He said the commissioners were more concerned about the declining level of enforcement of laws than about the money. He noted that the Barracuda was out of commission almost all last summer, “which obviously is the height of the fishing season, when most of the fines are collected.”

The commission asked the supervisors to approve a resolution asking the state Department of Fish and Game “to re-establish an adequate level of service to the residents of Orange County,” including filling vacant warden positions and adding more staff. Additional recommendations include replacing the engine on the Newport Bay patrol skiff and providing enough money for periodic maintenance of patrol vessels.

Patrick Moore, information officer at the Long Beach office of the state department, said the department’s wardens, biologists and administrators had all been trimmed “due to the general cutbacks that are percolating through all of government, from the federal government on down.”

He said Orange County commissioners “have problems” and have “ . . . good reason to be unhappy.”