Late-Night Lobster Bust Nets 5 Citations in Palos Verdes

PALOS VERDES, CA — Five people were arrested and later released with citations after California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers uncovered two separate cases of illegal spiny lobster harvesting during a late-night patrol along the Palos Verdes coastline earlier this month.

The agency said officers were patrolling areas where poaching during the closed season is a recurring problem when they encountered two groups of suspects. In the first incident, three people were allegedly caught catching and keeping five lobsters. In the second, officers said they found one suspect with three lobsters while another had hidden nine more inside bags concealed among nearby rocks.

CDFW said a total of 17 California spiny lobsters were seized as evidence before being returned alive to the ocean. Several of the lobsters were carrying eggs and wildlife officers also found lobster eggs scattered among the rocks where the suspects had been fishing.

The five suspects were arrested on numerous lobster-related violations before being released with citations, according to the agency. CDFW has not publicly identified those involved.

The department said California's spiny lobster season closes for part of the year to allow the species to reproduce, making it illegal to harvest the crustaceans during that period. Female lobsters can carry as many as 800,000 eggs, making the illegal harvest of egg-bearing females particularly damaging to the species.

The Palos Verdes enforcement action follows another recent lobster poaching case at the Santa Monica Pier, where wildlife officers arrested six people and recovered 34 illegally harvested lobsters, including several carrying eggs.

Anyone wishing to report suspected poaching or wildlife violations can contact CDFW's 24-hour CALTIP hotline at 888-334-2258 or submit an anonymous report through the agency's tip411 mobile app.