Amador County – A hunter formally contracted by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to reduce Canadian geese populations at Lake Camanche has been issued citations for various hunting violations following an investigation by wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game. Patrick Foy, Fish & Game’s Public Information Officer, said contractor Nick Catrina and a group of hunters he was working with received 7 citations within the last few weeks for multiple violations, including failure to report and retrieve bird carcasses and hunting without a license or state and federal duck stamps. Foy said Catrina was hired to kill the birds using “strictly legal hunting means” and was “the only person authorized to hunt.” If convicted, the hunters could receive up to a $1000 fine and six months in county jail, although it depends on the specifics of each citation. “As part of the conditions for his permission to hunt, Catrina was supposed to be following all fish and game laws. Unfortunately, he failed to do so,” said Foy. Another violation charged was herding, in which one hunter approaches a flock of birds and attempts to herd them toward another hunter. All hunters involved in the alleged poaching activity were cited after an investigation by multiple wardens from Fish & Game. The exact number of hunters working with Catrina could not be verified at the time this story was published. Foy dispelled rumors that the number of geese killed was in the thousands. He said “EBMUD does, however, have a couple thousand geese at this time on its Lake Camanche property.” Under state law, EBMUD is allowed to contract out to hunters to reduce geese populations because fecal matter produced by the birds can potentially contaminate the water to an unsafe level. One area hunter passed on additional information to Amador County Supervisor Louis Boitano claming the geese were being thrown away in dumpsters. The Supervisors discussed the issue last week and stated their hopes that the violators would be penalized accordingly. Foy said EBMUD was “very cooperative” once they learned the violations had occurred. EBMUD is working closely with Fish & Game in monitoring poachers and avoiding future violations. EBMUD has since terminated its contract with Catrina.