2020-12-15 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

Home

like two, three days later and so we really don’t have anything because it usually washes away or the samples break down pretty quickly, within a day or so. Troy and I worked on the one that we – Troy \[unclear\] we identified the suspect and we did what – several soil samples, several prawn samples, ah, Troy and I – actually Troy did an underwater survey of the whole stream of the area we suspected – I don’t know but about a half mile at least – we went and he did an underwater video – took out the prawns in the area and it was pretty significant because it showed where possibly the poison was introduced. So, when Troy was doing that I interviewed all the residents along the stream on both sides of the stream – all the way up the river and above and below and I got the information and wrote it up and sent it in to the Prosecutor’s cause we identified the people and the witnesses did identify the people and by the time they actually saw some prawns floating down the river was less than an hour after they saw the suspects walking up. But, we still cannot prove that they actually did pour it in the water. We have a lot of circumstantial evidence but we were told that it’s not enough. So a lot of people that we do contact along the rivers – we had suspects – we have about 8 suspects total, maybe, nine and we cannot – we know they’re all connected – and that we know everyone in that suspect group knows each other. Somebody knows something but they don’t want to come forward – so our issue is – when we contact these people and we find poison in their car or vehicle – do we wait till we let them go down in the river and poison the river so we can get an arrest? Or do we contact them and tell ‘em not to do that and save the river. That’s our dilemma. So I chose to save the river. I chose to save the water – save the marine life in that stream so that it doesn’t get damaged even though we don’t have arrest so… That is the problem. Somebody got to come forward because you have hundreds of streams, hundreds of miles of streams – where do you station to watch for these things – thousands of access points – we need more eyes out there. So, that’s pretty much what we have. So I know Troy was working hard on this… NP: So, I have a question. ES: Yes… NP: So when these people are poisoning these prawns it’s so they can gather them and sell them is what they’re doing? I’m assuming? 12