A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer made a shell-shocking discovery last month when four suspected crab poachers were found concealing undersized crabs in their pants, bras and even sun hats, a social media post from the agency said.
Officer Lane Garrison was on a routine patrol at the Tokeland tidelands in Pacific County on the southern Washington coast when he saw a man hide a crab in a woman’s jacket and then stick it beneath her sun hat, the Facebook post said. A second couple reportedly joined the pair in the parking lot while Garrison waited nearby.
Garrison approached the foursome, who submitted five crabs to the officer for inspection. However, he was quick to point out a leg sticking out from one woman’s jacket hood. He also noticed the group’s clothing appeared to be sagging.
Garrison asked the group a total of six times if they had more crabs, and they insisted they did not. Suspecting something fishy, he removed the woman’s jacket and found the inside covered in sewn compartments packed with Dungeness crabs, officials said.
As the woman returned to her car, Garrison spotted movement in her pants.
“Those are crabs in there!” Garrison exclaimed. “I can see that they’re crabs. No, the crab that is in your pants.”
While the woman fished in her pants to unload her catch, Garrison informed the group they were all getting criminal citations for the illegal catch.
As the unloading continued, a second officer arrived and believed he had found another hiding spot.
“Does she have crab in her bra?” the officer asked.
“It looks like she does. I can hear the bag,” Garrison replied.
The woman then reached into her shirt and unloaded more illegally taken crustaceans. After she claimed she was finally out of crabs, Garrison patted her down and found more concealed on her body, bringing the total haul to 21 Dungeness crabs.
In all, officers seized three jackets outfitted with built-in crab pockets, along with a puffer jacket used to conceal the catch, and cited the four people for failing to submit their catch for inspection and harvesting undersized crabs.
The catch appears to have been a modest one. Dungeness crabs are a common coastal commodity, and the poachers were allegedly targeting undersized ones, making the lengths they went to conceal their haul all the more peculiar.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Becky Elder told The Oregonian/OregonLive that each person was cited for two offenses: a misdemeanor for keeping undersized crab, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail, and a gross misdemeanor for failing to submit their catch for inspection, which carries penalties of up to $5,000 in fines and up to one year in jail. They are due in court July 7.
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