Saturday, February 3, 2018

     Kelly Goligowski caught this 14 pound halibut on live bait drifting the channel near Hog Island today, about an hour after I told Gage I wouldn't take him halibut fishing because there weren't any halibut to catch. (Once Gage thought I might be full of it; now he knows for sure.) I guess the halibut like calm, 75 degree weather too. Unfortunately the crab don't seem to care about the weather and Dungeness crabbing remains slow in the bay but better out in the outer bay.
    If you hadn't seen it already, here's a Fish and Wildlife press release that will make you angry. Abfish, please watch your language when you comment.


Three Abalone Poachers Hit with Heavy Fines, Other Penalties
officers with evidence
Evidence seized in the Liang case 
CDFW photo
The Mendocino County District Attorney's Office has settled three major abalone poaching cases involving Fort Bragg, Sacramento, and Bay Area abalone poachers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced.
Two of the settled cases resulted in hefty fines and other penalties for restaurant owners:
  • Steven Yuan Qin Liang, 47, of Fort Bragg pled guilty to felony conspiracy involving the purchase and black market sales of sport-caught abalone for personal profit. Liang, owner of the Asian Buffet restaurant in Fort Bragg, was ordered to serve 360 days in the Mendocino County jail, placed on probation for 36 months, and ordered to pay a fine of $15,000. He is prohibited from obtaining a sport or commercial fishing license for life.
  • Bryant Chiu Shiu Lee, 44, of Sacramento, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of purchasing abalone for black market resale. Lee, owner of the Sushi Café in Sacramento, was placed on probation for 36 months and ordered to pay a fine of $40,000. He is prohibited from obtaining a sport or commercial fishing license for life.
Liang and Lee were both convicted in late 2017, following a joint investigation by the CDFW Special Operations Unit and Mendocino Coast squad that began in June 2015.
In the third case, the strange circumstances surrounding an emergency rescue led to an investigation and eventual conviction.
  • Justin Joseph Adams, 44, of Alameda, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and taking abalone for black market sale. He was ordered to serve 210 days in the Mendocino County jail, was placed on probation for 36 months and was ordered to pay a fine of $15,000. He is also prohibited from obtaining a sport or commercial fishing license for life.
In April 2017, wildlife officers received information from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department, Elk Volunteer Fire Department and Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department about odd circumstances surrounding a cliff rescue in Elk, Mendocino County. Adams had been dropped off by a friend the day before at the headlands just north of Cuffy's Cove in Elk. He climbed down a steep cliff to the water's edge and harvested abalone during low tide, but when the tide returned, his return route was blocked. When he failed to appear at a pre-determined pick-up location, a friend called in a missing persons report. Rescuers found Adams stranded on the side of a steep cliff and extracted him around 2 a.m.
Wildlife officers suspected poaching activity may have factored into Adams' predicament. The day after the rescue, CDFW Lt. Joel Hendricks and Warden Don Powers donned wetsuits and swam to the location below where Adams was rescued to look for evidence of poaching. In a deep cut under the bluff, directly under the location of Adams' rescue, they found two bags containing 38 abalone. One of the bags also contained a half-consumed plastic bottle of water. After obtaining a DNA sample from Adams via a search warrant, they sent the sample and the water bottle to the California Department of Justice Forensics Laboratory. The lab matched the DNA evidence from the bottle to Adams.
Trafficking of illegally harvested abalone on the black market continues to pose a significant enforcement problem and further exacerbates the pressure on the abalone population. Black market values will likely increase with the closure of the 2018 sport abalone season. Wildlife officers continue to conduct in-depth investigations and arrest those who continue to poach and commercialize abalone.
"It is immensely important for wildlife officers to work with district attorneys who understand the importance of prosecuting poaching crimes against the dwindling abalone resource," said CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of Law Enforcement David Bess. "The Mendocino County district attorney's office has an excellent track record in this regard."
CDFW's wildlife officers and biologists alike hope to see the return of a recreational abalone harvest as soon as the abalone population rebounds.

13 comments:

  1. That's some serious csi work there dna off the water bottle I love it

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  2. Build a wall! Oregon shut down there season also. Fish and wildlife should have shut it down years ago. This is gonna make it easier to catch those animals. I can't imagine loosing my licence privilege for the rest of my life. Gage should suck up some shrimp out of the sand and go get a dinasor!! Sturgeon fight better than any halibut.
    Look mom no swear words!

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  3. Hope people spread the word and boycot those restaurants owned by those thieves.

    How did I know what their names would sound like.....

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  4. Are you referring to the name "Adams"?

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  5. On a better subject - Congrats Kelly on that nice Hali!

    Hali rush in Tamales this weekend.

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  6. Willy

    How common or uncommon I should say are bay hali in non peak season times like February?

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  7. How common is 80 degrees in february

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  8. Rokefin, it is comments like yours, based on selective observational skills, that make some fishermen embarrassed at times to identify with the fishing community. I have known people of various ethnicities who abuse and disrespect Fish and Game laws and public resources. Willy, many of us would appreciate it if you screened thinly veiled racist comments from this blog.

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  9. I love everybody and work and get along with all likes of this world - I have no enemies in my book.

    Not much grey area with me though. I call it like it is - this would include myself.

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  10. I apologize if anybody was offended

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  11. I've been lucky enough to catch halibut in the outer bay evey month of the year over many year of fishing. The north side of bodega head trolling into salmon creek was my goto late winter halibut spot until it got closed. Last year I got three between bodega rock and jingle bells in January and February bonce balling. Havent been on the water this winter.

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  12. Thanks One More for sharing, I wasn't aware of any hali in the winter months but if one spends enough time on the water you could be in for a few surprises. A fresh winter hali would be the ticket!!

    The latest I am down at Lawson's is November and I try to get the boat back there in April but it is been June the last couple years. This year should be April;)

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  13. Come on Willy, tell us there is more butts being caught with the warm weather. That one looked like she got a couple of dinners out of it. And tell the Dungees to lay low until I get there.

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