A Surry lobsterman was charged with exceeding lobster trap limits and overfishing in a neighboring fishing zone after state officials placed covert tracking devices on his boat.

Dakoda Gray, 38, is accused of fishing 17 traps over the 800 trap limit off Tremont, a Mount Desert Island town, and of submerging 124 traps more than he was allowed to in a neighboring lobster fishing zone where he wasn’t licensed, according to court records.

Maine Marine Patrol officers put secret tracking devices on Gray’s fishing boat, “Sweet Melissa,” after obtaining a search warrant signed by an Ellsworth District Court judge in August, according to court records.

Gray was charged in September.

The search warrant and subsequent tracking devices resulted from an investigation into whether Gray was using untagged lobster traps and fishing over the 49 percent limit in a non-declared lobster zone, according to court records. Lobstermen cannot use more than 800 traps, and have to have state-issued tags on the traps they are licensed for.

A lobsterman can fish no more than 49 percent of their total traps in a secondary lobster management zone, according to state law. Gray is accused of exceeding that limit.

Jeff Nichols, a Department of Marine Resources spokesperson, declined to provide additional information on the pending case. It was not immediately clear the nature of the probable cause that led to the search warrant.

Gray failed to appear in court in early November, which led to the forfeiture of the 124 traps he set in the neighboring zone to the state, according to Will Ashe, his attorney.

Ashe did not know any details surrounding the tracking devices, he said, adding that he had only been retained to represent Gray in the matter related to the trap limit violations.

Gray also faces a Department of Marine Resources administrative license suspension hearing, Nichols said.

The tracking device is one of several tools officers use to investigate marine fisheries violations, Nichols said.

Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger did not respond to an inquiry about the case from the Bangor Daily News.