By YVONNE SHAW/For YachatsNews.com
Two men caught setting stolen crab traps in a marine on the Oregon coast await trial following a joint effort of citizen reporting and solid detective work.
Bob Browning has fished Oregon waters all his life.
Sarah Henkel, a researcher with the Oregon State University marine program in Newport had hired Browning and his boat, The Lady Lee, on April 3, 2019 to take her out to the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve.
Henkel was collecting data for her latest project — the feeding ecology of Dungeness crab in a reef area.
It was there that Browning spotted a strange object bobbing on the ocean surface. Henkel squinted to get a better look. Even through binoculars, neither the researcher nor the boat captain could identify the small black thing bobbing on the water’s surface.
It definitely didn’t look like the bright orange and white surface buoys that marked her research beacons. Browning steered The Lady Lee in for a closer look.
Browning reached down and pulled at the object. It was a black bait bag, about the size of his fist. Inside were two pieces of foam to keep it afloat. But when he tried to pick it up, there was resistance. And a long cord.
Browning threaded the rope through his hydraulic lift and started the motor. When a crab pot broke the surface of the water, they knew there was trouble. The line continued. Another crab pot rose from the depths. They reached for their phones to report it.
The investigation
Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Todd Thompson took the call. He instructed Browning and Henkel to pull the string of crab pots and bring them to the dock.
The nearly invisible float marked a string of 19 pots, all with crabs in them. Even in areas where crabbing is legal, each pot must have a surface marker.
But these were secretly placed in the center of the 12-square mile marine reserve, where commercial fishing is strictly prohibited.
Trooper Jim O’Connor was surprised when he saw the string of crab pots on the dock that afternoon. Commercial crabbers generally paint all their pots the same color; these pots were a variety of colors.
“It looked like a rainbow of crab pots sitting on the dock,” he said.
Not only were the pots different colors, but they were set with a variety of bait styles — a deviation from commercial crabbers, who set all their traps the same way.
O’Connor concluded that the pots were stolen property and began investigating recent reports of stolen crab pots. One by one commercial crabbers stopped by the state police office to identify and claim their gear.
“All in all we had seven different commercial crabbers between Astoria and Newport whose stolen pots showed up in this string,” he said. “We found eight pots that had been stolen from the same person.”
Everyone thought that would be the end of it. The poacher and thief would surely never claim the pots, and likely not set gear in that area again.
But O’Connor started tracking boats traveling in and near the marine reserve. He took notes and paid attention. Then he began an official investigation.
Marine reserves protect habitat from human influence and create a place for marine life to grow and mature, according to ODFW Marine Reserves program leader Cristen Don. With little fishing pressure, ecosystems have an opportunity to regenerate.
“Greater populations mean greater opportunities to encounter fish and other marine life on Oregon waters,” she said.
A break in the case
A month later Browning received a call from a friend on another boat.
“You won’t believe what just happened,” he said to Browning. “I’m going through the marine reserve, and I ran over a line attached to two strings of crab pots.”
Browning asked for the location. It matched where he and Henkel had been the month before.
“Don’t say another word,” Browning told his friend. “I’ll be right there.”
Browning immediately called the ODFW’s Turn In Poachers (TIP) Line. He reported what his friend found, then started his boat and headed out to the reserve. Senior Trooper Dave Herman, O’Connor and a member of the Coast Guard were close behind in another boat.
When they arrived, O’Connor pulled up several crab pots. He removed a few legal-sized crabs from each, discreetly marked them, then placed them back in the pots. They lowered the traps back into the water and headed back to shore.
The trooper knew he was going to have a long night at the fish processing plant, waiting for the marked crabs to show up. If they showed up.
Several hours later, his patience paid off. The marked crabs came through the processing line, and they knew which boat had dropped them off. It was one of several O’Connor had been tracking around the marine reserve area.
Troopers served several search warrants on the suspect over the following months, which solidified the case. Eventually they tracked him back to the marine reserve.
Last month, a Clatsop County grand jury indicted Scott E. Giles, 39, and Travis R. Westerlund, 34, both of Astoria.
Giles, captain of the fishing vessel The Baranof, faces 14 criminal charges including theft, criminal mischief, unlawful take, fishing prohibited methods and fishing prohibited area. The amount of stolen gear in his possession elevates his crimes to a level constituting felony theft.
Westerlund, deckhand on The Baranof, faces 12 similar criminal charges.
ODFW Director Curt Melcher said the operation was a success in preserving fish and marine habitat.
“We and our partners at OSP rely on information from non-enforcement personnel and this incident shows the important role that citizens play in our efforts to protect the resource,” Melcher said. “Moreover, illegal fishing activity negatively impacts participants who are following the rules.”
O’Connor credits the OSU researcher and boat captain with solving this crime.
“We would never have found those crab pots,” he said. “This is a perfect example of the public working with law enforcement to identify and report a crime.”
Browning is quick to credit the state trooper.
“O’Connor is good at his job,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to be the guy he’s after.”
— Yvonne Shaw is the coordinator of the ODFW’s Stop Poaching Campaign.
The Stop Poaching Campaign educates the public on how to recognize and report poaching. This campaign is a collaboration among hunters, conservationists, land owners and recreationists with a goal to increase reporting of wildlife crimes through the TIP Line, increase detection by increasing the number of OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers and increase prosecution.