Free divers find illegal crab traps off Vancouver beach

A group of free divers harvesting crustaceans near Jericho Beach in Vancouver discovered more than 250 illegal crab traps on Monday.
Illegal crab fishing is a widespread problem along the B.C. coastline, where poachers set long lines of unmarked traps, often retrieving them at night using GPS coordinates. The crabs are then sold on the black market, or laundered into the commercial marketplace.
More on the story: www.cbc.ca/1.6017308

[@kaze987]

Only way to discourage this illegal activity is for regular patrols. Can't leave it up to by-chance encounters by random freedivers. Hope this problem can be fixed!

[@jayspot4]

Here’s a thought: why didn’t they wait for the poachers to pick up their traps!! Set up a sting operation and wait instead of bringing up all those illegal traps! 🙄🙄

[@catchingfishbc]

Love samson's yt! such a great man to report something like this :)

[@ethimself5064]

DFO should buy some American Gunships

[@Thebonesoftrees]

Chip a crab and watch get tracked it to richmond ,

[@vkrgfan]

To set up over 200 traps there must be some witnesses. There is no way they could set up so many without being seen by someone, unless someone from Canadian fisheries involved in illegal activities themselves. It’s time to install cameras everywhere. And put clear signage, more wild life and marine life rangers are needed patrolling the premises.

[@stopthebullshit404]

Chinese poachers.........go figure.

[@dongertan3320]

Chinese illegal fisher?

[@infobaseworks2401]

Dam Chinese's again

[@misterwolf9227]

well going out and picking the traps out of the water is not going to catch,who setting the crab traps..putting a fisherman with a small boat close by to watch will..or setting up a camera on the shore facing the traps also. Id say Asians. are the poachers since some many Asians have been caught poaching in BC coast.

[@shitloveaduck]

They pick the traps up at night. It’s harder to do, but not impossible. Stings are expensive and budgets are too tight. There are decisions made and at least the crabs are released and a few thousand bucks worth of gear is removed. Do it over and over enough times, they move on. Hopefully unsuccessfully. I would prefer to see the perpetrators getting caught, but right now people tend to want budgets cut for policing instead of giving them what they need. I was a Law Enforcement officer for 30 years. Some years budgets were so bad we couldn’t afford the fuel to patrol as necessary and were only responding to complaints. The $ just wasn’t there for fuel!! I’m retired now. It’s stupid how the Feds, provinces and municipalities think, then the people, who rightfully have no clue how it works, speak up asking for cuts and those that need their votes listen, when the departments need the opposite to be able to police at a level that keeps those same people happy! 30 years ago, law enforcement was respected and generally understood. Now no one wants to listen or learn, but they sure can gripe about something they know little about. Give DFO the budgets they need, not what a landlocked politician “thinks” they need, and hey!! There will be night raids and the per Petra will be caught. Once you catch them, a whole new series of costs happen as all those officers are off the line and doing hours or days of paperwork to prepare the charges and the case along with the legal teams needed. There’s overtime for the other patrols to try to fill the void left by losing those officers from the line, the time needed for the officers to prepare for and attend court and so on. It’s never simple or a one step process.