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Conservation News

California Poachers Caught Red-Handed with Stunning Number of Spiny Lobsters

Truck bed piled with dozens of crawfish and a white cooler at night

Smiling man with short brown hair and trimmed beard, wearing jacket, blurred lakeside background

Sage MarshallAug 15, 2025

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently announced citations in a startling case of marine wildlife poaching.According to a Facebook post, CDFW officers were on a routine patrol on the evening of August 1, when they encountered suspicious activity around 11 p.m. near Royal Palms Beach in Los Angeles.

The CDFW watched four individuals in diving gear actively catching and bringing ashore spiny lobsters for several hours, despite the season having been closed in March.

“At about 3 a.m., the suspects left the area,” wrote a CDFW spokesperson. “Wildlife officers initiated contact and the suspects attempted to flee on foot. A short search led to the suspects who were apprehended without further incident.”

By then, the four individuals had stashed a whopping number of illegally caught spiny lobsters—a popular recreational target for divers and hoopnetters in the Golden State. In total, they had 236 of them, with 210 of them being undersized. In contrast, during the legal spiny lobster season, individuals are only allowed to take seven per person with a minimum size of 3 and ¼ inches.

“Fortunately, most of the poached lobsters were still alive and were safely returned back into the ocean after a quick count and photographs for evidence,” explained CDFW. “All four individuals were cited for multiple misdemeanor violations.”

Those violations include the taking of lobster during the closed season, possessing undersized lobster, commercialization without a license, no fishing license, and no measuring device. The agency did not release the fines and other punishments the individuals received, nor did it explain why none of them were charged with felonies given the shocking number of lobsters they attempted to poach.

This isn’t the first case of extreme infractions involving marine wildlife recorded in California this year. In June,MeatEater reported onpoaching busts in California involving white sturgeon and Chinook salmon—both imperiled species in the state. In one of those cases, officials apprehended 150 pounds of salmon roe—collected from at least 75 fish—that was destined for the black market.

Feature image via California Department of Fish and Wildlife.