Are HOOPS the solution to Poaching and Crab Thievery? (Blog/ Article)

Are HOOPS the solution to Poaching and Crab Thievery?
Written by The Lost Anchovy 12.5.2022

Full article with photos on my blog:
Link:
https://thelostanchovy.com/hoops-the-solution-to-crab-thievery/



Introduction:

If you are reading this article there is a good chance your crabbing pots have been poached in the past. Poaching or stealing another mans catch is a pretty slimy thing to do, but it happens year after year. It's illegal, it's slimy and over all just a pretty terrible thing to do.

Working backwards in the criminal mind of a poacher we can see their logic. If the thievery benefits me with a low probability of repercussions then the act is beneficial to me -- and the key word here is ME.

Let's be honest, the authorities are have not taken a hardline stance on crab thievery that would deter such behavior. Deterrence is non-existent. With limited resources the state can only enforce so many rules, regulation and laws on the books. This has led to an intractable problem that has plagued honest fisherman across this state. Those that follow the rules are getting screwed, and there has not been much justice for them. The poachers get the crabs followed by the uproar on social media and various fishing forums. Rinse, repeat and recycle every dungeness crabs season opener.

For thieving to be lucrative poachers need few things to go in their favor. They need  authorities to NOT care about enforce the laws, which is happening in my humble opinion. They also need fisherman to leave their pots unattended so they can strike quickly, and finally they need their actions to NOT have detrimental consequences to themselves or their lively hood -- Check, Check and Check.

When do thieves strike? -- Understanding criminal behavior

I have dealt with crab poachers for as long as I have kayak crabbed and that is a long time. Criminals (Poachers) will strike when there is least attention on their activity and there is greatest demand for the product, In this case crabs. They will poach unattended traps in the early morning or late evening and around the holiday time (Thanksgiving and Christmas). For years this method has worked well for them. Limits or sometimes over limits of crabs for their families and friends at the expense of honest fisherman; however the times and tides maybe changing against the poachers.

Let's be honest, everyone would love to have a poacher publicly tarred and feathered on social media with clear evidence of the crime to send a clear message across the bow to their brethren, but I'm not holding my breathe. However, new regulations regarding equipment changes may just be the solution to this intractable long term problem.

Hear me out.

My initial hesitation to switch from traps to hoops

For many years I have be fish with traps and it's all I have known -- It was effective and got the job done. Once the crabs go in, they don't go out, so when the proposed new regulations limiting the use of traps caused by the increase whale entanglement became law it caused a lot of angst. Naturally, I question the logic or motives behind the change.

From a sports angler's prospective it meant investing in new equipment (Hoops), or having to pay a validation stamp to use equipment I have bought in the past. In essence, I would have to pay more to do the same thing that I have always done —It just rubbed the wrong way. The message was clear from the fish and game commission — they wanted anglers to move away from traps to hoops due to political pressures from environmental groups advocating for whale safety.

As humans we favor known routines and procedures. We are biologically programmed to follow known paths and routines because it safe and known. Change is scary because it offers more uncertainty in an already uncertain world. In the animal kingdom sudden change can lead to death if the animal is unable to adapt quickly enough.  Bottom line…we have our routine and habits, and we like sticking to them.

However, as the famous saying goes.
The definition of INSANITY is doing the exact same thing and expecting different results.

In this case using traps equates to getting poached!

Forced change brings a solution to an intractable problem

With the new changes to the crabbing regulations fisherman were left scrambling to acquire hoops. The demand and prices for hoops skyrocketed which was a boom for tackle shops and manufactures like Promar at the expense of anglers who had to retool their gear to be in compliance with the new regulations.

By law, hoops are required to be checked every two hours and must be taken home at the end of each fishing day. Hoops can not be left unattended as trap were in the past. A crab trap validation stamp is NOT required for hoops.
These policy changes brought about changes such as: Less whale entanglement from unattended traps, reduced lost traps floating and ensaring bio life, and reduce crab poaching.

The new change regulations became an inconvenience to anglers like me who had to retool our equipment but it solved an intractable problem of crab poaching. By reducing the time anglers have to check their pots between soaks and forcing anglers to take home their traps at the end of the day this reduced the time that poachers have to steal. Suddenly poachers were unable to steal unattended traps in the early morning or late evening. If they wanted to poach crab they would have to do under the watchful eyes of Anglers. ( By law, anglers are required to pull pots every two hours). This solved multiple problem on multiple fronts regarding crab poaching. Let me be clear, the policy changes is NOT be a silver bullet to completely eliminate crab poaching but it did greatly reduced the conditions that made crab poaching lucrative.

Conclusion

Personally, I have found that using hoops to be an effective way to catch crabs. I have done equally well using hoops as I did with traps as a kayak angler. Additionally, as an added bonus, the volcano traps can also be used for lobster hooping in Southern California.

The policy changes has been good for the whales, the environment, and to an extent honest sport anglers. The intractable problem of poaching may finally have found a solution in an unlikely place. The biggest losers have been the poachers but maybe…just maybe they can just put in the hard work like the rest of us honest anglers …  and you know what…I’m OK with that. It taste like sweet justice to me.

TLA
 

Tanks fo da insight brah!

This is my conclusion as well…

I’m taking my kraken wit my hoops in da trunk of my hooptie and we goin’ crab hoopin’  

im going to go with a solid and confident "No" because I watched these guys poach my hoops right in front of me lol

im going to go with a solid and confident "No" because I watched these guys poach my hoops right in front of me lol

How did that encounter play out?

Thieves will be thieves unfortunately. 

I think that the new regulations do help to clarify and distinguish who owns what if it comes down to an interaction with a DFG officer and a commercial or recreational fisherman. But I have rarely seen any DFG inspections on the water during crabbing season, unlike salmon season.  I was hoping with the changes that they would be out there in force, and maybe that would keep thieves at bay.  But unchecked, they will do what they do regardless...

...But I have rarely seen any DFG inspections on the water during crabbing season, ...

I have been stopped while on the water at Doran and it was a PITA because they made me open up my hatches on the water. Nevertheless, I agree that DFG will do noting to stop poaching. 

Sadly DFG is in the business of writing citations, not intelligently enforcing the law. Why monitor infractions by sending out two wardens in a vessel when you can put one warden at the ramp for a fraction of the cost? Asshats will poach crab gear no matter what you drop in the water.

Sent from my LM-G850 using Tapatalk

I guess I stand corrected     


http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=285&v=_-zEuqSUW8U&feature=youtu.be