Washington wildlife officers watching a marina after dark uncovered a major Dungeness crab violation after they found three people with 56 illegal crab, most of them undersized, according to a recent video from the bodycam footage YouTube channel Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife.
The channel’s host said officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife were patrolling the Westport Marina in an unmarked vehicle when they saw someone carrying two lawn chairs down the dock.
That stood out because the marina has signs posted, including a large sign near the entrance, saying the area is closed from dusk to dawn.
As the officers kept watching, they saw three people actively harvesting crab from the dock, according to the host. After documenting what they observed, one officer went to get a marked vehicle, returned to the area, and made contact.
“Hello, Fish Wildlife Police,” one officer said as he approached the group. “How’s the crab fishing tonight?”
Officers First Asked About Licenses
The encounter began with a simple question: did everyone have a fishing license?
At first, one person appeared to say yes. But when the officer followed up, one of the three admitted he did not have a license.
“You just said yes,” the officer said. “So, you don’t have one?”
The officer then asked for identification from all three and began sorting out who had a shellfish and seaweed license, who was fishing, and who was only there with the others.
When asked who was crab fishing that night, the group first said only two people were involved.
The officers pushed back. One officer explained that crabbing is not just holding the line or keeping the catch. Deploying pots, retrieving pots, measuring crab, and sorting crab all count as participating in the fishery.
That meant anyone helping with the crab needed a license.
“Keep in mind it’s worse to lie to us,” one officer said. “It’s a gross misdemeanor to lie about it.”
That warning seemed to shift the tone. The officers made it clear they had watched enough to know what had been happening and were giving the group a chance to be honest.
The Dock Was Closed After Dark
The officers also told the group they should not have been on the floats after dark.
One officer pointed out that they had walked past a sign at the marina stating that the area was open only from dawn to dusk.
“You walked right by a sign right up there,” the officer said. “It says dawn to dusk.”
He explained that the Port of Westport does not want people on the floats after dark unless they have a boat there, and that being on the dock at night could be considered trespassing.
The officers then told the group to pull in the rest of their gear.
As they checked the gear, they found multiple crab traps and rings, including equipment the officers said was not legal for that time of year. One officer said some of the gear was non-collapsible and did not lie flat, meaning it did not qualify as a legal ring.
That part of the case is easy to overlook, but it matters. Wildlife rules are often specific because the gear itself can affect how many animals are caught and how much damage is done. In this case, the officers said the wrong type of gear can trap soft crab and lead to them killing each other.
The Crab Were In Coolers
After the gear was gathered, the officers walked the group back toward the vehicle.
The officer stopped near the posted rules and showed the group where the crab regulations were displayed. He asked whether they knew the size limit and what kind of crab could be kept.
One person said “six inches,” but the group did not seem clear on the details.
The officers then went to the vehicle, where the group said the crab were stored.
There were multiple coolers. One was just ice and bait, but the others contained crab. When the officer asked how many crab they had, one person said he had no idea.
The officer also asked whether they had measured any of the crab.
They said they had measured some.
But when one person demonstrated how he measured a crab, the officer quickly pointed out that the measurement was off by more than an inch. The crab being used as an example was one of the larger ones, and even that one did not meet the legal standard.
“You see how that is like over an inch off?” the officer asked.
The officer then looked at the coolers and said he did not know whether there was even one legal crab in the whole group.
“Why are you keeping these?” he asked. “You’re hurting the crab population. You can’t do this.”
All 56 Crab Were Illegal
The officers counted and measured the crab on scene.
In one cooler, they found 16 crab. In another, they found 40 more.
That made 56 total.
According to the officer, the licensed anglers could have kept six crab each, meaning the group’s legal possession limit was 12 because only two people had the required license. Instead, they had more than four times that amount.
The size and condition problems were even worse.
Of the 56 crab, officers said 49 were undersized. The remaining seven were legal size, but they were soft-shell crab, meaning they were still unlawful to keep.
“So all 56 crab that you had are illegal crab,” the officer told them.
That is the most striking part of the stop. This was not a case where someone was one crab over the limit or misread one small rule. Officers said every single crab they found was illegal for one reason or another.
It also shows why these regulations exist. Keeping undersized crab removes animals before they have had a chance to grow, and taking soft-shell crab makes little sense because they have recently molted and do not have much meat inside.
As the officer explained, those crab are growing into their new shells.
“There’s no even reason to keep them crab,” he said.
“This Is Not Acceptable”
The officer then explained the seriousness of the case to the group.
He said limits exist so the resource is not depleted and so crab remain available for everyone. The group, he said, was far over the limit and had kept undersized crab while one person did not even have a license.
“That’s not acceptable,” the officer said. “You can’t come out here and keep this many crab without a license, let alone they’re all undersized.”
He said each of the three would be referred for criminal violations related to possessing more than twice the legal limit and possessing undersized crab. The person without a license would also face an additional violation for fishing without a license.
The officer also said they were being warned, rather than cited, for the unlawful gear and soft crab.
That was an interesting point in the stop because, even with a large number of violations, the officers did not charge everything they possibly could. They focused on the main issues, seized the crab, and explained the rest.
Still, the officer did not soften the seriousness of what had happened.
“We should be seizing your vehicle right now,” he said, telling them they should have been finding a bus ride home.
Court Referrals And A Warning
The officer told the group he would write a report and refer the case to the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office. He said citations would come in the mail and that they would need to follow through with the court process.
He warned them that failure to appear for a mandatory court date could lead to a warrant.
The group also requested a Marshallese translator for court, and the officer said that would be listed so the court could arrange one if needed.
Before ending the stop, officers again explained that recreational crabbers could not use pots in that area at that time of year. The officer said Grays Harbor does not switch to recreational pot use until December 1, and only proper rings were allowed at the time.
He also reminded them that the regulations were posted at the marina.
“You guys walked by signs that say the crab regulations right on them,” he said.
The officers then returned the group’s items, seized the crab, and left them with a warning not to repeat the same conduct.
“I’m out here all the time,” the officer said. “I don’t want to come back out in the dark and contact you guys again doing this.”
The Crab Were Released Back Into The Marina
According to the Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife host, one person, identified as Alex, was referred on three charges: possessing Dungeness crab without the required license, possessing more than two times the legal limit, and possessing illegal undersized Dungeness crab.
The other two were referred for retaining or possessing more than twice the daily bag limit and possessing undersized Dungeness crab.
The host said the Grays Harbor County Court does not have public records available online for the case, but the channel requested a follow-up.
All 56 illegal crab were seized and released back into the water within the Westport Marina.
That ending matters. In some wildlife cases, animals are dead, wasted, or impossible to return. Here, the officers were able to put the crab back, giving at least some of them a chance to survive and grow.
The case also shows why fish and wildlife officers do nighttime patrols, surveillance, and dock checks. A closed marina, illegal gear, no license for one participant, a massive overlimit, undersized crab, and soft-shell crab all came together in one stop.
For the officers, it was not just a technical violation. It was a direct hit to a shared public resource.
For everyone else, it is a simple reminder: before harvesting wildlife, read the rules, know the limits, measure correctly, and do not assume “first time” will erase the damage.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
