AuntyM - We'll just have to agree to disagree on the attended pot issue.
WDFW LE simply doesn't have enough boat deck capacity but if I were to try and anticipate every potential action I could speculate that they would increase the P.S. endorsement and spend the money on bigger and faster boats to clear out the unattended pots, reduce the catch and ultimately the number of recreational crabbers and consequentially the amount of licenses sold. But I am not going to get into that negative mode.

What I am going to do is bask in the change in crab management policy and do my best to show that the recreational crab fishery has been unduly constrained by the past (now obsolete) policy through my own crabbing activities. Also, to help ensure that the recreational crabbing community is well educated as to the rules hopefully to reduce violations and further to encourage WDFW to report violations in a non-prejudicial manner for both the commercial and recreational fisheries.

Now, back to the original problem.....if the tribes cannot or will not police their own and/or responsibly coordinate with surrounding jurisdictions to investigate this and similar events then I again suggest that there are tools available for the higher authority (FEDS) to utilize if they have the political will to do so.

The Lacy Act Trafficking Penalties
Despite the many specific prohibition in the Federal fishery regulations and statues, many Federal prosecutions for trafficking offenses are brought against seafood companies and their executive under the Lacy Ac because this law governs the sale of all fishery products, provides for harsher penalties and prohibits a much broader range of activities. Specifically, the Act makes it unlawful to any person.
The basic elements of an offense under the Lacy Act are to:
Import-export, transport ,sell, receive acquire or purchase wildlife, fish or plants that have been taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of a state, federal, foreign or tribal law or regulation.

Several aspects of the Lacy Act make prosecutions relatively easy.
A person violating the Act, for example, need not be the same person who took, possessed, transported, or sold the fish/shellfish in violation of the underlying state, federal or foreign law.
Culpability attaches to anyone who imports, exports, transports, receives, acquire, or purchase the fish/shellfish and who knows, or in exercise of due care should know that it was illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold.

Similarly, the government is not required to prove that the defendant knows which underlying law was violated or the nature of violation. Neither must the government prove that the defendant knew of the Lacy Act or knew that he violated it. The government needs only to prove that the defendant knew the fish was, in some fashion, taken, possessed, transported or sold illegally.

The underlying law that must be violated may take different forms. It may be a state fishing regulations, or a state statute that is criminal in nature but carries a lesser penalty than those of the Lacy Act, or it may even be a law or regulation that provides only a civil sanction

We deal with fish tickets all the time.

The following people get copies of the fish ticket.
Dealer, State,NWIFC,Tribal and the Fishermen.

Merging WDFW LE and WSP will be a huge loss to fishermen and hunters, as well as the species themselves. Only two states (Oregon and Alaska) operate this way and Alaska is considering changing into how the other 48 states operate.

JohnQ

I'd much rather have the Commissioners address the apparent difference between their perspective as policy setters and that of the Director who is responsible for implementing the Commission's policies via his his employees.

So who would "suffer" as the result of your proposed actions if there was a merger? Answer: The resource, your opportunities, and possibly the Chief and/or Deputy Chief who may or may not end up retaining their current positions.

I don't see that as a reasonable course of action.

I would love to raise funds for 3-4 one day sting operations... PSA, CCA and individual donors (you) could contribute to pay the overtime for the WDFW/appropriate authorities and we'd have some opportunity to actually catch some of these pot/crab theives. I bet a few well publicized stings would get some people to think twice.

My take is that the VAST majority of crabbing done (commercial, tribal for certain) is done in unattended pots, I'm not clear why we should surrender that right unless all the other user groups did too.

If positive identification had been made and the tribes did not come out officially denouncing said actions then one recourse could be that of public opinion.

None of the tribes want to get a black eye in public and need to keep a clean image as their primary money machine is the casino's. Nothing would gain so much attention as bad publicity saying they are not conserving nor lawfully attending to our marine resources!

Look what happened up north with the derelict nets, as soon as it hit the papers the Nooksacks were out there pulling nets, it took a bit for the Lummi's but they finally did get out there and cleared their nets also.

Power of the pen.

Fishy

We'll see that boat out there again some time, even if it's acting legitimately at that time...there will be a camera around the next time.

Fish on...

Todd

no surprise......

would have stood a chance with a camera.

I know this is a long shot, but have you contacted any media regarding this? Maybe some bad publicity might get the Tribal Authorities to take the right action. At the very least it might help others know to keep their eyes open for these poachers.

Just a thought.

I don't think any local media would touch this unless there was a groundswell from local people first and to do that you would need irrefutable evidence, photos, video just to name a start.
But it can start somewhere and this just illustrates that we should all have cameras ready just in case we have that catch of a life time, our buddy falls in the drink or some scumbag is thieving our resources!

I have been down this road before!


Fishy

even if a camara was on the action it sounds as though it would have been a blurr. it would go something like this maybe... video mode.

2 boats haulinass in near darkness, addicted yelling racial slurs, todd, blahblahblah, boats bobbing weaving and circling! more yelling!!! still very blurry, todd blahblah yada yada yada, by this time 5 minutes of a blurry mess and still more telling by addicted!!!! during this entire sequence oneway is holding on tight with deathgrips.

the video would be a great crazy clip nodoudt!

the news people would not make a report on the story.

How much would y'all be willing to pay for a trap alarm with an exploding dye pack?

This is a serious question. I'm an engineer and I came up with a design. The issue is cost.

The alarm would give you a preset amount of time to disarm the device. No code, dye everywhere.

That...is some good schit, right there.

Fish on...

Todd

Then WDFW LE would get you for wasting marine resources and polluting the water!
Just kiddin...

Sounds interesting, be pretty wild it we got a group sale on these and then called the local sheriff to watch for the guy splattered in neon pink paint!!!!!!

Fishy

I've been conjoring up a similar device.....but your non-lethal one is interesting too.

Tell us more.

Larry B,

The "Reasonable Course of Action" for Bjork/Cenci would be to sit all of their officers down and point out that Officer BigMouth (and Jr AssHat) Olson opened his tater trap and shot every WDFW LE Officer in the foot. Biting the Hand that feeds them (that's Sport Types) is a very bad course of action. And Officer Big Mouth Olson did the public a disservice with his assinine lipservice. It was the Sport Types Not the Tribes or Kommies that stood up last year and saved the collective butts of WDFW LE from writing Seattle HOV Violation tickets. If I had to "Grade" Bjork/Cenci for how they "Educate" their officers, they would get a big fat F. Just show me one even small example of how Bjork/Cenci have Readjusted that idiotic Fisheries Menatlity. That attitude has No Place whatsoever in WDFW.

Right now I am of the mind to Do Nothing and recommend Others to Do Nothing the next time the AssHat Politicians go after WDFW LE. The Ball is squarely in Bjork/Cenci Court to Do Something to make/correct Officer Big Mouth Olson's fiasco.

John Q, I love how you sugar coat things!!!!


Fishy

Thank You!!!! I believe they are Civil Servants first and foremost, and they ought to at least TRY being one. New Experience for Bjork/Cenci.