San Diego's lobster capers continue to keep state Department of Fish and Game wardens busy as the season enters its fifth week.
Lt. Eric Kord of the patrol boat Thresher out of Dana Point acted on a call from CalTIP and made a case recently against a commercial lobster fisherman. CalTIP, or Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters, is a confidential witness program that uses tips from the public to report poachers and polluters.
Kord said the CalTIP report indicated a commercial lobster fisherman was keeping short lobsters. When the department investigated, wardens found Stacey G. Stanley, 45, of San Diego with 40 “tailed” lobsters.
Lobsters often are tailed by fishermen in an attempt to keep them from being measured to determine whether the lobsters meet the legal minimum size limit.
It's illegal for a commercial or recreational fisherman to possess tailed lobsters.
“The evidence suggested the tailed lobsters were shorter than what is legal,” Kord said. “This is one of the most significant cases in the commercial lobster fishery that we've made in the last two years because of the number of short lobsters he took. When someone takes short lobsters like that, especially females, you take potential breeders and the fishery loses thousands of eggs. This shows the damage one person can do in one day out there.”
Stanley also had 23 legal lobsters, which he was allowed to keep.
He faces 40 misdemeanor counts for the 40 short lobsters. Each count carries a fine of up to $1,000 or six months in jail.
“The biggest step now is to get an aggressive prosecution or strong disposition of this case,” Kord said. “We need to send a clear message to those doing this that they face heavy fines or jail time for poaching. If we can get stiff fines or jail time, that will discourage poachers from poaching.”
Introduced in 1981, CalTIP gives fishermen and hunters a chance to help protect the state's fish and wildlife resources. The toll-free telephone number – (888) 334-2258 – operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Callers do not have to give their names, but they should be ready to provide as much information about the incident and poacher or polluter as possible.
If the information given leads to an arrest, the caller is eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. A volunteer citizens group determines the award. All the reward money comes from donations.
Notes
Trout Season: Lake Jennings will be stocked with 1,200 pounds of rainbow trout from the Mt. Lassen hatchery today at 8:30 a.m. Open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, this week from 6:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Trout Fishing Classes: Capt. Ron Baker of the boat Point Loma will hold a series of trout fishing classes for beginners at Lake Poway starting next month. The classes are open to kids 6 to 12 years old. All fishing rods, bait and tackle will be provided for each class, set for Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The first session runs Nov. 3-24; the second runs Dec. 1-22. Call (858) 668-4771 or register online at www.poway.org/classes.
Deer Season: Deer season opens for San Diego County rifle hunters tomorrow a half-hour before sunrise. Bucks (forked horn or better) may be taken until Nov. 23 (D-16 tag needed), and antlerless deer may be shot until Nov. 16 (G-13 tag required). Last year, there were 171 reported buck kills in the D-16 zone, with 58.5 percent of them being 2-point bucks, 6.4 percent being 3-pointers and 1.8 percent 4-points or better (counting only one side of the rack).
Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com
