The owner of seafood restaurants in Yachats and Seal Rock who provides crab for his businesses has again been cited for failing to obey crabbing regulations.
Oregon State Police cited Robert Anthony, owner of the two Luna Sea Fish House restaurants and the F/V Liberty II, on March 24 with misdemeanors for failing to retrieve crab pots within 14 days and using pots with last year’s tags.
According to a state police report, the agency received information that crab gear owned by Anthony was being used in the ocean with the previous year’s buoy tag, a misdemeanor. Wildlife troopers found six of Anthony’s crab pots whose buoys’ tags were for the 2022 season.
The investigation also determined Anthony failed twice this season to retrieve his pots within 14 days of putting them out. Violation of the state’s “14-day rule” is also a misdemeanor and applies only to commercial crabbers.
“The purpose of this rule is to ensure commercial crab pots are checked frequently to ensure they are maintained in good order to avoid becoming lost or derelict, as well as to ensure caught crab are removed within reasonable time frames to avoid dead loss,” OSP marine fisheries Sgt. Heather Van Meter said in an email to YachatsNews.
At the beginning of the season, crabbers typically land pots within two to four days. Near the end of the season, the wait can typically extend to at least a week.
Anthony told YachatsNews Thursday he was delayed making landings due to repeated mechanical issues, and that any pots with last season’s buoy tags could only be his stray gear from 2022.
“I’ve got plenty of new tags,” Anthony said.
The fisherman was also cited for violating the 14-day rule in 2017. In that case, Anthony submitted a letter to Lincoln County circuit court blaming the issue on being busy with his Yachats restaurant. The letter outlined his plan to ensure he didn’t violate the rule during the upcoming season.
The Class A misdemeanor was eventually dismissed when Anthony pleaded guilty to the equivalent of a violation and agreed to a $1,500 fine.
Court records also show that Anthony was cited in 2017 and in 2016 for failure to keep a record of fish received or allow record inspection. He pleaded no contest in both cases and was fined $435 and $250.
All commercial Dungeness gear must be out of Oregon waters by Aug. 14. Anything left is considered “derelict” and can be removed and kept by anyone with a permit to retrieve them under a program to decrease the possibility of whale entanglements. According to Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife records, there were 391 derelict crab pots removed from the ocean by Newport-based boats between Aug. 31 and Oct. 25, 2022, including 27 crab pots from Anthony’s Liberty II.