April 2012 - Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

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Fish & Game Enforcement:
Page 32
Fish and Game Enforcement implement new tool to fight crab pot theft
Theft from commercial crab pots has been an ongoing
complaint over the years. Fisheries officers have spent
hours on surveillance in attempts to catch an offender red
handed, but it’s rare that officers are at the right place at
exactly the right time. That’s about to change. This year,
Fish and Game Enforcement Director Todd Wilbur invested
in a new tool to assist officers documenting this
type of offense. It’s a weatherproof digital camera that
can be set up on shore to monitor crab gear or set nets,
24/7. The camera can be set to take a picture at specified
time intervals or when it detects motion. The camera also
has the ability to take flash pictures at night that are invisible
to the human eye.
The following picture was taken by the camera on its first
deployment. The camera was mounted on the south side
of Hope Island for three days. It was set to take a picture
every five minutes. The camera captured a fisherman
working his own gear, which is what we like to see.
Below is a picture of the camera deployed to illustrate how
well it blends into the surrounding environment. It’s
mounted on the log in the center of the picture.
This new tool will greatly increase the odds of crab pot
thefts being detected. Fishman can assist fisheries patrol
officers by having their crab pot buoys marked in a unique
manner with bright colors. If your crab gear looks different,
we can better tell whether or not someone else is pulling
it.
Swinomish Fisheries: