Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement and Regulation Information
For regulation questions, contact a New Jersey DEP Fish & Wildlife Law Enforcement office that serves the county where you hunt or fish.
- Northern Region — (908) 735-8240 (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties)
- Central Region — (609) 259-2120 (Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties)
- Southern Region — (856) 629-0555 (Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties)
- Marine Region — (609) 748-2050 (coastal and bay areas)
- To report violations anonymously call Operation Game Thief — (855) OGT-TIPS
After business hours, contact the 24-hour DEP Action Line at (877) WARN-DEP or (877) 927-6337.
Interstate Deer Poaching on Christmas Day, 2020
On Christmas Day of 2020 a caller contacted the NJDEP’s 24-hour call center, 877-WARN-DEP, to report potential illegal deer hunting. The witness observed two hunters with two large bucks on a boat at the Farnsworth Ave Boat Ramp in Bordentown. There is no deer hunting on Christmas Day in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.
Working off the information provided by the witness, Central Region Officers obtained a search warrant for the address associated with the boat’s owner.
The officers served the warrant and interviewed the suspect. It was then determined that the suspect and a friend had shot both deer on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River on Christmas morning. They became nervous after encountering the witness and dumped both deer off the side of the road shortly after.
The officers were able to recover the discarded deer and gather enough evidence to provide to the Pennsylvania Game Commission Wardens for their illegal hunting case.
The New Jersey cases were heard in the Bordentown Municipal Court in 2022. The first suspect, who had prior convictions for illegal deer hunting, received a $1700 fine and a three-year license suspension. The second suspect, who had a prior conviction for hunting without a license, received a $300 fine and a three-year license suspension. Both were convicted of hunting violations in Pennsylvania as well.
HUNTERS: Know Before You Go!
Two separate fish and wildlife convictions for violating any New Jersey saltwater, freshwater, trapping or hunting law within a five-year period will cause you to lose your hunting and fishing privileges for two-to five-years! This means convictions for taking under-sized or over limit striped bass in Marine waters can prevent you from hunting!
Wildlife management area violations such as possession of alcohol, swimming, ATV use and illegal dumping also fall under fish and wildlife offenses and can result in license revocation.
Don’t take a chance on losing your license because you heard the wrong information! If you have any questions regarding hunting or fishing regulations, please call your regional Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement office before going in the field.
The overwhelming majority of New Jersey hunters, trappers and anglers are ethical, law abiding citizens with a low tolerance for those not willing to follow the laws. If you see a violation occurring, report it immediately by calling 1-(877) WARN-DEP.
Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact
New Jersey is member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, a multi-state agreement designed to 1. enhance protection of wildlife resources in member states, 2. provide equal treatment of non-resident hunters/anglers/trappers, and 3. improve compliance with citations or summonses issued for wildlife violations.
Responsible hunters and anglers want wildlife violators removed from the population of ethical sporting enthusiasts.
Under the Compact, information about suspension of sporting license privileges for people convicted of wildlife violations in New Jersey will be shared with participating Compact states. The other Compact member states determine if the individual would also be suspended according to their own state laws.
Similarly, New Jersey will be provided with information on individuals suspended for convictions under the law of all Compact states. When reviewed, if the violation(s) would lead to suspension under New Jersey’s laws, that individual’s privileges will also be suspended in New Jersey.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If an individual has a wildlife license or privilege suspension in any Compact state, it is the individual’s responsibility to first contact the licensing authority in the state where they intend to hunt, fish, trap, harvest shellfish or otherwise take or possess wildlife to determine their eligibility before purchasing any license or engaging in those activities.
Under New Jersey law, two convictions of any violation of the fish and game laws of this or any other state within five years will result in a two-year hunting and fishing license suspension.
Individuals with wildlife violation convictions or license suspensions received outside of New Jersey may call the Compact Administrator at (609) 259-3347 to determine his or her license eligibility in New Jersey.
For more information on the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, including which states are members, consult the Fish and Wildlife’s website at dep.nj.gov/njfw/the-interstate-wildlife-violator-compact/
