Posted by Capt Strange and Grumpy on November 04, 2002 at 16:06:14:
In Reply to: Lobsters in Traps posted by Honest Joe on November 04, 2002 at 14:55:26:
You might want to ask Kenny Hess about that. I seem to recall that his boat got firebombed just because a trapper suspected that he had allowed his passengers to raid a trap.
Fish and Game have a number of resources at their command to catch poachers that raid traps and use them often. I won't elaborate because it could interfere with their operations but they are very diversified in their approaches to the problem.
I recently had an incident at San Clemente Island where I watched divers from my boat hover over a trap for about 10 minutes or so. After they left that area the owner of the trap showed up and pulled it only to discover it had been tampered with. He was pretty indignant and I don't blame him. He has an investment in time and equipment the same as the rest of us and is entitled to earn a living without interference from poachers. All I could do under the circumstances was wait and see who came on the boat with lobsters and then confront them. They apparently either couldn't catch a lobster in a trap or there were no legals in the trap because no one showed up on deck with any lobsters.
Divers need to understand that captains and owners are usually aware of what you are doing in the water. We may not say very much, but we do observe and we know what's happening around us.
By poaching you are placing us at risk as well as yourselves.
On the other hand, if you come across a "dead" trap (one that has no line and bouy) please remove the door or render it inoperable so lobsters do not become trapped with no method of release.
Ray
Ray