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Shellfish poachers targeted
by Jason Dietrich
Lobster season may have ended in March, but for guardians of California’s fish and game, it’s open season on lobster poachers.
Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game spent the night of Friday, May 11 scouring Redondo Beach Harbor in hopes of pinching poachers.
Eight alleged poachers were caught with spiny rock lobsters, and four were caught with undersized bass and halibut, authorities said. Taking undersized or out-of-season fish is a misdemeanor punishable by fines of up to $1,000 or a year in jail. A first offense typically results in a fine of around $300 and probation, said Lt. Bruce Toloski of the Department of Fish and Game.
More than 80 live lobster, including females carrying eggs, were rescued and returned to the ocean.
Lobster season changes every year, but normally runs from the middle of October to the middle of March.
"We give the lobsters a chance to recoup between March and October," said Warden Christian Corbo, who is based in Redondo Beach.
In the summer lobsters congregate at places like the Redondo Beach Breakwall, coming out at night to feed and spawn. Poachers gather at the same places, using spears or three-pronged hooks baited with squid to snag the lobsters.
"The Breakwall is an excellent habitat for lobsters. People from all over Southern California come to Redondo Beach to take lobster unlawfully," Toloski said.
The shellfish lack the ability to heal breeches in their shells, so if a lobster manages to escape after being hooked by a poach, it’s chances of survival are low. In season, lobsters can only be caught by hand or with a hoop net, which allows the bugs to be hauled up without being harmed. Lobster fishers abiding by the rules use a gauge, throwing back specimens that don’t measure up.
Taking the shellfish during the breeding season reduces the number of lobster available during the legal season, Toloski said.
Six people were given tickets for allegedly fishing without a license, which has a recommended bail schedule of $650 dollars, officials said. Wardens said they also turned up a case each of littering, displaying fraudulent vehicle registration tags, giving false information to a peace officer and driving under the influence.
Shortly after midnight the following Thursday, a pickup truck was stopped leaving the harbor. Police officers said they noticed several backpacks with what appeared to be lobster antennae sticking of them. The truck’s occupants said they didn’t know anything about the backpacks and insisted they didn’t have any lobsters. Thirty lobsters and some lobster-snagging gear were found in the bags and returned to the ocean by wardens who were called to the scene, authorities said.
Police and wardens plan to keep a close eye on the harbor area through the end of lobster season.
"The past year was a good season, and it only ended in March. So anybody going out doing any serious lobster diving probably still has a full freezer," said Harbormaster Lt. John Pitzer. ER