Three men from Malden, Brighton and Allston had their boat seized and are facing criminal charges after being found with 198 black sea bass on Sunday.

According to Harbormaster Jill Simmons, two shellfish officers alerted her to the suspicious, 12-foot inflatable boat laden with fish, gear and coolers. She, in turn, called the environmental police.

Simmons had the guys, who she said were brothers, pull up to the dock to inspect their catch.

“I asked them how the fishing was,” she said. “The guy was clearly operating to endanger because the boat was severely overloaded.”

Legally, each recreational fisherman can take home eight black sea bass per day and those must be at least 14 inches.

According to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, 48 of the bass were under sized. Needless to say, the men were grossly over the legal limit.

“We had fish everywhere. It was ridiculous,” said Simmons. “They should have had twenty-four.”

At the end of the day, that was about all the men had left.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police seized the fish, boat, trailer, fishing rods and other equipment the men had. They did let them keep 24 bass, according to Simmons.

The men will face civil charges for the boat seizure and criminal charges for poaching.

Sgt. Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police said this is the first spring that black sea bass fishing has been closed to commercial fishing. Many aren't getting the hint.

According to Simmons, one of the men caught on Sunday claimed to own a restaurant, which was why he had so many fish. Moran said his office will investigate those claims.

Sunday's seizure in Mattapoisett is the fifth largest sea bass bust in Buzzards Bay in less than three weeks.

“Irresponsible fishing like we’ve witnessed for the last few weeks, it’s frustrating to my department. It’s frustrating to the recreational fishing industry as a whole. It’s frustrating to the people that make a living from the sea,” Moran said.

The fines for the infractions are up to $50 for every fish over the limit and or undersized up to $5,000. Those involved may also face the loss of their boats and equipment. All five of the incidences are pending litigation.

Moran said he hopes people start to understand the seriousness of the offense.

“I don’t know what else we can do to get the message across. This is not going to be tolerated.”

Sunday's catch did not got to waste. It was donated to the Salvation Army.