Maine's Operation Game Thief (Maine OGT) program began in 1989 after Maine Commissioner Bill Vail traveled to Texas to research and learn about their program. Shortly after, Maine modeled Texas's successful program. Since then, most all of the United States and Canadian provinces have a similar program. Since its inception, over 8,000 calls of poaching have been received resulting in well over 2,500 convictions, and thousands of dollars paid in rewards to concerned citizens who reported suspected activity.
In the entire State of Maine, there are about 95 District Game Wardens & 40 Marine Patrol Officers, so our fish and wildlife need your eyes and ears to report known or suspected poaching violations. Poaching is a serious and costly crime. Poaching robs legitimate sportsmen and sportswomen of fish and game, robs our businesses and taxpayers of revenues generated by hunting and fishing and robs all of us who enjoy the beauty of the State of Maine of a valuable resource - our fish and wildlife resources. The illegal introduction of non-native fish species in Maine has become the "resource crime of the century" as the ramification of this unlawful act has had, and will have, disastrous effects on our Maine native fisheries.
Yes, although no one knows exact figures, studies indicate that poachers may take at least as many game animals and fish as legitimate hunters and anglers take during legal seasons. Even if poachers take half that amount, the number is staggering. Threatened, endangered and non-game wildlife are also fair game to the poacher.
Calls on the OGT hotline (toll-free within Maine at 1-800-253-7887 (1-800-ALERT-US) are taken by a local county dispatch. All information about the poaching incident is taken and the caller is assigned a code number. The toll-free line is answered 24/7 365 days a year.