The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recently caught a fisher for attempting to smuggle 65 Dungeness crabs out of the Westport Marina.
According to a Facebook post by ODFW, an officer was overseeing commercial and recreational crab fishing in the marina when he received a report of a "suspicious looking recreational crab fisher" who was seen making multiple trips from Float 20 to a vehicle in the parking lot with a backpack.
Upon investigation, the officer found a bucket and cooler hidden in the backseat of the vehicle full of undersized crab that's illegal to take. There were 67 crabs in total, and only two were of legal regulatory size.
ODFW said the fisher was criminally cited for "possession of female crab, undersized Dungeness crab, undersized red rock crab over two times the daily possession limit, and warned for possession of soft-shell crab."
The 65 undersized crabs were seized and released back to the marina.
