Their World’s No Oyster Now

Four Tilghman Island watermen are facing charges of oyster poaching.

Natural Resources Police report they were patrolling Broad Creek in Talbot County in an open patrol boat at 1:30 a.m. Thursday when they discovered Bartlett Wade Murphy Jr., 36; Edward Bruce Lowery Jr., 45; Bobby Lee Gowe, 25; and Richard Nicholas Fluharty, 24, on two vessels illegally power dredging for oysters.

The poachers were working with their navigation lights off in order to avoid detection, according to NRP, but officers were able to observe their illicit activity with night vision goggles.  As the NRP officers approached the closest vessel, “Lady Katie”, they found two men culling oysters with lights strapped to their heads to illuminate the boat’s deck and working area. The watermen on the vessel were identified as Murphy and Lowery.  The “Lady Katie” and her crew were more than 7,500 feet into a well-marked hand tong only area where power dredging is prohibited at all times.

When the Officers approached the second boat, “Lil Lady”, the crew gunned the boat’s engine and attempted to flee. After a few minutes the vessel stopped, and the two poachers, Gowe and Fluharty, were arrested without further incident. The officers determined the poachers were taking oysters more than 8,000 feet into the well-defined hand tong only area.  Also, found in the water was a glow stick that the crew used to mark their unlawful spot.

All four watermen were charged with power dredging outside legal hours, power dredging in a restricted hand tong area and possession of oysters on board a vessel more than two hours after sunset.  Each of these citations carries a prepayable fine of $125.00 and a maximum fine of $1000 for the first offense per offense.   Gowe and Murphy received additional citations of operating a vessel without navigational lights which carries a prepayable fine of $85 and a maximum fine of $500.