15 cited for illegal crabbing off Thornton Beach near San Francisco over Labor Day weekend

By Tim Fang

Agents with California Department of Fish and Wildlife said they busted a group of more than 40 people suspected of illegally taking Dungeness crabs off the coast near San Francisco over the Labor Day holiday weekend, issuing 15 citations.

The agency on Thursday announced the results of the bust, which took place on the night of Aug. 30. Around 9 p.m., CDFW officials responded to a report of crab poaching at Thornton Beach, just off the coast of Daly City.

The initial report claimed “about 30 people” were involved, but the agency said closer to 45 people were illegally taking Dungeness crabs by hand under lights, while the season was closed.

Officers intercepted people as they hiked back up the trail.

“Some dropped bags of crabs and ran, while others were stopped as they attempted to evade and make their way to their vehicles,” CDFW said in a statement.

During the operation, which took place between 9:45 p.m. to 4 a.m. the following morning, 15 citations were issued. Crabs, which were stuffed into trash bags, backpacks and grocery sacks, were also seized.

Officials said most of the taken crabs were undersized, which are illegal to take at any time. The number of crabs that were saved is estimated to be in the hundreds.

“Instead of ending up in a pot, these crabs were returned to the beach and scuttled back to their rightful underwater spots,” the agency added.

Anyone who may see poaching activity is urged to call the agency’s CalTip program at 1-888-334-2258, text “Caltip” TO 847411 or to use the Tip411 app.