TULALIP — Their crab poaching investigation took them from the water’s edge to restaurants and even nail salons.
It resulted in the arrests of two men in recent weeks for investigation of unlawful trafficking in shellfish, fishing out of season and possessing stolen property.
Michael Cenci, a deputy director with the state’s Fish and Wildlife enforcement division, said the case is not related to arrests made last year involving poaching allegations against Joe Hatch, the former co-director of the Tulalip Tribes fisheries and wildlife division. Hatch resigned in July, five days after his arrest. His son, Joseph Hatch Jr., 25, also was arrested. The Tulalip Tribes have charged them with fishing in closed waters.
“They are separate cases,” Cenci said. “There is no connection there other than they all poached.”
In the newest case, fisheries officers began watching the suspects, ages 36 and 33, after receiving a tip in early December that they were fishing illegally near Tulalip Shores. Both men are Native American, according to court papers.
“It is a cooperative effort between the state and the tribe,” Cenci said. “By working together, we are starting to get a handle on this.”
On several occasions, fisheries officers allegedly watched the men use row boats that didn’t belong to them to pull up crab pots before driving to restaurants to sell the catch. Fisheries officials said the crabs were taken from privately owned “fee lands” off the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
In December, an undercover officer reportedly bought 24 crabs for $120 and was given four more for free, court papers said.
Seven of the 28 crabs were under the legal minimum of 6.25 inches. Harvesting crabs before they reach the minimum size affects breeding.
“There is a definite conservation impact, especially when you are dealing with undersized crab,” Cenci said.
The sale of illegally harvested shellfish also creates an unfair advantage among restaurants, Cenci said.
The suspects allegedly sold crabs to three nail salons in Marysville and Smokey Point.
“I think at the nail salon level it is more of a distribution-type scenario,” Cenci said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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