Commercial fisherman hides 2,000 pounds of fish behind false wall, CA officials say
A commercial fisherman tried hiding over 2,000 pounds of fish behind a false wall in their trawling boat, California wildlife officials said.
The angler didn’t know wildlife officers were onto them and watched as they docked at San Francisco’s Pier 45 and unloaded several burlap sacks from their trawling vessel into their car, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a Dec. 30 post on Facebook.
“The owner was later found at a restaurant where they attempted to flee and hide fish,” the agency said. “The owner was found in possession of several halibut, filleted salmon, sole and sanddabs that had not been declared as a commercial catch for retail sale.”
Wildlife officers seized 2,365 pounds of halibut and submitted a formal complaint to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
The agency then declared the seized halibut the next morning, sold the fish and donated proceeds to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, officials said.
Several people urged the agency to post the vessel’s name and the owner.
“2,365 pounds of halibut is a LOT of fish!” someone said in the Facebook comments. “Why do we still allow for trawl vessels to destroy ocean and fishery. Beats me!”
“That’s unacceptable by all means, we all want to catch salmon and tons of commercial guys are just taking the hit,” someone else said.
“Glad the fish still got ‘sold,’” another person said. “It would’ve been sad for fish populations if they had to throw it away ... at least the fish were honored.”
Others agreed.
“I’m glad they were stopped and the fish wasn’t wasted,” someone said.
Officials urged anyone with information or knowledge of poaching, polluting or any other fish and wildlife violation to call the toll-free CALTIP number at 1-888-334-CALTIP (2258) to share it anonymously, or submit a confidential tip online at the agency’s website.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 6:45 AM with the headline "Commercial fisherman hides 2,000 pounds of fish behind false wall, CA officials say."
