Two Crisfield watermen were charged Monday by the Maryland Natural Resources Police with illegally harvesting oysters from protected waters.

Using the Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network system of cameras and radar, two officers monitored Paul Franklin Tyler III, 29, and Jeffrey Alan Cuff Jr., 31, at 10 a.m. as they dredged for wild oysters in the buffer zone surrounding the Somerset Oyster Sanctuary near Tangier Sound, police said.

Once Tyler, the vessel operator, saw the NRP officers, he quickly left the sanctuary buffer with the dredge still in the water, according to police. The officers stopped the vessel and saw 14 bushels of oysters on board.

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