San Pedro man convicted of poaching near Catalina Island - The Daily Breeze
A San Pedro man was convicted on two counts of poaching an endangered pink abalone and an undersized lobster while diving near Black Rock on Catalina Island, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said Thursday.
San Guk Han, 43, was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $2,500 to the Department of Fish and Game Abalone Restoration Fund, along with another $2,500 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office.
Han also had to agree not to harvest fish, squid or other sea animals for commercial or recreational purposes without a valid permit or license, Mateljan said.
The skipper of a dive boat called the Department of Fish and Game on Oct. 29, 2011, to report that one of his passengers was poaching.
Authorities interviewed Han at the 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro, where he confessed that the pink abalone and undersized lobster found inside an ice chest belonged to him, Mateljan said.
The pink abalone taken by Han has been restricted since 1996 and is part of a declining population species of fish.
Han previously was convicted in 2009 for illegally taking abalone in Mendocino County, Mateljan said.
I have to wonder if he is a member of a certain dive club that has been banned by most of the SoCal dive boats due to their persistent poaching. When I worked at 22nd Street Landing I saw so many receive tickets from DFG as soon as they got off the boats. Many carried mesh bags full of sea cucumbers, with abalone hidden within. One guy walked off a boat swinging his aluminum 80 like a cane. When suspicious wardens removed the boot from the tank several lobsters fell out. The bottom of the tank had been sawed off.
A San Pedro man was convicted on two counts of poaching an endangered pink abalone and an undersized lobster while diving near Black Rock on Catalina Island, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said Thursday.
San Guk Han, 43, was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $2,500 to the Department of Fish and Game Abalone Restoration Fund, along with another $2,500 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office.
Han also had to agree not to harvest fish, squid or other sea animals for commercial or recreational purposes without a valid permit or license, Mateljan said.
The skipper of a dive boat called the Department of Fish and Game on Oct. 29, 2011, to report that one of his passengers was poaching.
Authorities interviewed Han at the 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro, where he confessed that the pink abalone and undersized lobster found inside an ice chest belonged to him, Mateljan said.
The pink abalone taken by Han has been restricted since 1996 and is part of a declining population species of fish.
Han previously was convicted in 2009 for illegally taking abalone in Mendocino County, Mateljan said.
I have to wonder if he is a member of a certain dive club that has been banned by most of the SoCal dive boats due to their persistent poaching. When I worked at 22nd Street Landing I saw so many receive tickets from DFG as soon as they got off the boats. Many carried mesh bags full of sea cucumbers, with abalone hidden within. One guy walked off a boat swinging his aluminum 80 like a cane. When suspicious wardens removed the boot from the tank several lobsters fell out. The bottom of the tank had been sawed off.
