San Francisco fisherman sued in ‘egregious’ crabbing case

A California fisherman illegally caught a whole bunch of Dungeness crabs within the protected North Farallon Islands State Marine Reserve, in line with a lawsuit filed final week by the San Francisco District Legal professional’s Workplace.

State Division of Fish and Wildlife investigators mentioned they discovered over 90 crab traps throughout the ecologically fragile space off Northern California, the place fishing of any type is prohibited.

“Our officers obtained an nameless tip from a industrial fisherman who mentioned he noticed one other fisherman’s crab traps within the Marine Protected Space. He was involved that this fisherman’s unlawful actions would put different law-abiding fisherman in a foul mild,” Fish and Wildlife Assistant Chief Eric Kord mentioned in an announcement.

Greater than 250 Dungeness crabs from these traps have been launched again into the ocean, the company mentioned.

Tags and buoys on the traps have been traced again to the Pacific Mist, a ship owned by industrial fisherman and Vallejo resident Tam Van Tran, SF Gate reported Sunday. Efforts by The Related Press to seek out contact info for Tran on Monday and search remark in regards to the lawsuit have been unsuccessful.

The district legal professional’s lawsuit alleges Tran gained an unfair enterprise benefit by illegally fishing in a Marine Protected Space. It’s a misdemeanor for industrial fishing operations to work in protected areas, punishable fines starting from $5,000 to $40,000 for a primary offense, SF Gate mentioned.

“Upon info and perception, that is probably the most egregious case of illegal crabbing exercise in San Francisco’s historical past, in addition to the biggest incident of illegal industrial crabbing in any Marine Protected Space in all the State of California,” the lawsuit mentioned.

The Farallons, a small assortment of islands about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off San Francisco, holds considered one of largest chicken nesting websites alongside the North American coast. Whales and sea turtles additionally move via the world, and crab traps threaten to entangle them.

In an effort to shield the islands, they’re utterly closed to the general public.