Four divers in wetsuits were caught in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles earlier this month with hundreds of illegally taken and mostly undersized spiny lobsters in the back of their pickup truck, wildlife officials announced on Wednesday.
“CDFW wildlife officers were on coastal patrol the night of Aug. 1 when, at around 11 p.m., they spotted lights and suspicious activity near Royal Palms Beach,” The California Department of Fish and Wildlife posted on its Facebook page.
The officers watched as the four divers poached the lobsters and returned to shore before they finally left the area around 3 a.m. When officers tried to make contact, the suspects fled on foot, but were eventually apprehended without further incident, the post states.
Officers then found the 236 spiny lobsters, 210 of which were undersized, in the back of the suspects’ truck. The divers also had no fishing licenses and no required measuring devices, officials said.
On top of that, “both the recreational and commercial spiny lobster season in Southern California had closed months before in March,” the CDFW said.
All four individuals were cited for multiple misdemeanor violations, including:
- Taking lobster during the closed season
- Possessing undersized lobster
- Commercialization without a license
- No fishing license
- No measuring device
During the open lobster season, there is a limit of seven per person with a minimum size of 3 and a quarter inches measured in a straight line on the back from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell.
“Fortunately, most of the poached lobsters were still alive and were safely returned back into the ocean after a quick count and photographs for evidence,” the CDFW said.
Anyone witnessing something similar was asked to contact CalTIP at 888-334-2258 and help protect California’s fish and wildlife by reporting it.