Can wdfw fly drones?

[rotato]

So we were out in area 13 fishing blackmouth when a drone flew over the fleet and seemed to hover over each boat. A bit later the wdfw boat just appeared like they do and began to pull a few boats over.
Timing was too coincidental

Anyways, has anyone observed this behavior?
Fishing was decent but I lost mine at the boat
Cheers

 

[krusty]

WDFG uses drones, like a great many government agencies, for all sorts of purposes.

 

[krusty]

The real advantage of using the drone for enforcement is dealing with people on the boats that don't have licenses but claim to not be fishing...until the recorded video documents otherwise.

 

[Josh]

I can't imagine why they COULDN'T use drones. No idea if they do or not. But wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Porter2]

They have been using them for a while

The Future of Wildlife Management: WDFW Uses Drones to Survey for New Toutle River Fish Release Site - The Daily Chronicle

When the U.S. Corps of Engineers decided a new fish release was needed on the North Fork Toutle River, the first step was to survey the location. Traditionally, this would mean hours of crew time, …

www.chronline.com

 

[rotato]

It just feels invasive
One because I feel the I have rights to the air above me for some reason
Two the drone was unidentified

It’s a new world order I guess

 

[Evan B]

Pretty sure ODFW has a nice overhead closeup of me peeing over the side of my boat.

 

[Tom Butler]

Pretty sure ODFW has a nice overhead closeup of me peeing over the side of my boat.

I was just typing something similar. I have a bladder the size of a guppy, don't need them following me back into the brush. I use a bucket in the boat, I'm afraid of falling in.

 

[Evan B]

I was just typing something similar. I have a bladder the size of a guppy, don't need them following me back into the brush. I use a bucket in the boat, I'm afraid of falling in.

True story though. One time I was just doin my thing and looked up to see the drone getting a front row seat. It hung out for a bit then moved to another boat. Probably deciding if they could nail me for fishing with too many rods.

 

[the_chemist]

True story though. One time I was just doin my thing and looked up to see the drone getting a front row seat. It hung out for a bit then moved to another boat. Probably deciding if they could nail me for fishing with too many rods.

Or debating if the indecent exposure charges would stick if they are having to use 32x lense.

 

[Evan B]

Or debating if the indecent exposure charges would stick if they are having to use 32x lense.

 

[Old406Kid]

I use a bucket in the boat, I'm afraid of falling in.

Good choice...I think alot of unexplained solo drownings can be attributed to peeing over the side of a boat and falling in.

 

[krusty]

True story though. One time I was just doin my thing and looked up to see the drone getting a front row seat. It hung out for a bit then moved to another boat. Probably deciding if they could nail me for fishing with too many rods.

The Popeil Pocket Fisherman doesn't actually count as a rod.

 

[Chinook Angler]

True story though. One time I was just doin my thing and looked up to see the drone getting a front row seat. It hung out for a bit then moved to another boat. Probably deciding if they could nail me for fishing with too many rods.

Good one!

 

[Driftless Dan]

It’s a new world order I guess

It's a shame, isn't it?

 

[Josh]

It just feels invasive
One because I feel the I have rights to the air above me for some reason
Two the drone was unidentified

It’s a new world order I guess

Eh, I mean, it's only "new" in some ways.

Generally, nobody has "rights" to the area around them when they are in a public space. Drones above us is just a different version of getting photographed in public or being recorded on security/traffic cameras. While I understand the feeling of not liking it, going down that road is what leads to rich dudes running people off public river access. Public space needs to stay public. Even if that has some aspects that we don't love.

I could support having identifiable drones. That said, they are pretty small and don't have transponders like airplanes. So I'm not sure how you would be able to do that. And there's an argument to be made by law enforcement in a situation like this where being identifiable would reduce the effectiveness of catching poachers and rulebreakers. Which is something that I think we all generally want WDFW to do more of, not less.

Regardless, it's also pretty important to us as a society to understand how old laws and precedents apply to new technology and how those laws may need to change. For anyone who likes dry legalese, this is a fairly interesting paper on the subject out of Fordham University. Even 10 years out of date, it raises some interesting points. They mention a case where the use of a thermal camera was thrown out because while the heat might have been leaking out into a "public space" a thermal camera is not a technology that is in "general public use". So, have drones crossed that line yet? Are they common enough that we shouldn't expect privacy from them in a public space? Or are still they rare enough to be a specialized technology that should require a warrant (like the thermal camera).

 

[DanielOcean]

@Divad remember that drone we saw?

 

[Yard Sale]

The last couple times I fished the Sol Duc a chopper flew the river slowly. It was a big blue one(like you imagine landing on high rise offices) and was very clearly following the bends of the river both times. I can only guess it was some sort of F&G counting anglers or something like that?

 

[Mossback]

I could support having identifiable drones. That said, they are pretty small and don't have transponders like airplanes. So I'm not sure how you would be able to do that.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id

Ther are areas (FRIA) where you do not need a remote ID for your drone, but in general, there is now some requirements for drone ID, even for hobbyists. Anything weighing over 250g needs a remote ID, hence the recent advent of 249g drones marketed to hobbyists.

From the link:
The FAA’s Remote ID rule requires all UAS weighing over .55 pounds to be able to transmit a remote identification signal. The UAS either has to have a built-in transponder or be retrofitted with attachable transponders. While there are a few exceptions to the rule, such as hobby aircraft flown in specific, FAA-Recognized Identification Areas (FRIA), the rule applies to virtually all UAS.

 

[Divad]

@Divad remember that drone we saw?

Sure do! I bet that was too, they were flying it near holes that could attract snaggers. I’m flashing nipple next time.