CDFW Officers Bust Alleged Spiny Lobster Poachers In Palos Verde Area

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers have been busy lately busting alleged Southern California spiny lobster poachers. Here’s the latest via a CDFW Facebook post:

CDFW Wildlife officers conducted a late-night patrol earlier this month along the Los Angeles County coastline, focusing their efforts in areas of Palos Verdes where spiny lobster poaching during the closed season is a common violation. The season is closed for a portion of the year to allow for lobsters to reproduce, and taking lobsters during the closed season is prohibited. During the closed season many female lobsters are carrying eggs. Female lobsters can carry up to 800,000 eggs so removing them from the population can have detrimental effects on the species.

During CDFW’s patrol, two cases were made involving multiple suspects who unlawfully took lobsters. In the first incident, wildlife officers saw three suspects actively catching and retaining lobsters. The wildlife officers contacted the subjects and found them unlawfully in possession of five lobsters. In the second incident, wildlife officers observed two suspects actively catching lobsters in a remote area of the Palos Verdes coastline. One suspect was in possession of three lobsters, and the second suspect concealed nine lobsters in bags, hiding them in nearby rocks. Several of the lobsters recovered were carrying eggs and the wildlife officers found lobster eggs scattered throughout the rocks in the immediate area the suspects were fishing.

During the patrol, five suspects were arrested for numerous lobster-related violations and were released with citations. A total of 17 lobsters were seized as evidence and returned to the ocean alive. These cases illustrate the continuous threat California’s natural resources face and highlight what CDFW wildlife officers are doing to protect them.