Three fishermen returning to a Washington boat ramp on the opening day of recreational spot prawn season allegedly had far more than the legal limit aboard their vessel, and the encounter became more serious after a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer found additional prawns hidden toward the front of the boat after the group had said there were no more on board.
The body-camera footage was published by Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife, whose narrator said the officer was conducting routine resource inspections when he contacted the three men and eventually counted 532 spot prawns, putting the group 292 over the legal limit.
The officer repeatedly explained that the issue was not only the excess catch, but also what he described as a failure to present the full catch when asked, which he told the fishermen could amount to a separate misdemeanor charge.
The Inspection Started as a Routine Check
The encounter began calmly, with the officer asking when the group had set its first pot and whether he could look at the catch.
One of the men told him there were three limits on the boat and said the prawns were kept in separate containers, including a red bucket and other bags.
The officer then asked a broader question that would later become important: besides the shrimp already being shown to him, was there any other shrimp or fish aboard?
The men indicated there was not.
At first, the amount they presented appeared to match three legal limits of 80 prawns each, which would have allowed the group to possess 240 prawns in total if all three licensed harvesters were actually present.
That might have ended the inspection quickly, but the officer kept looking.
The Officer Finds More Prawns in the Bow
After inspecting the vessel more closely, the officer discovered additional bags of prawns stored up in the bow.
He returned to the group and again asked whether there were any other shrimp aboard beyond the ones already discussed.
When the fishermen continued to indicate that there were no others, the officer confronted them with what he had found.
He then asked for fishing licenses and identification from the men and began treating the situation as more than a simple counting mistake.
The officer told them that because they had said they only had their legal limits and he had now found more prawns hidden elsewhere in the boat, they were being detained while he completed the investigation.
Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife’s narrator described the hidden catch as a key part of the encounter because it turned what could have been an over-limit violation into a possible second offense involving failure to present the catch.
That distinction mattered to the officer, who repeatedly told the group that honesty would have made the situation easier.
The Legal Limit Was 80 Per Person
The officer explained several times that the recreational limit was 80 spot prawns per person.
With three licensed people aboard, that meant the group could legally retain 240 in total.
One man asked whether a daughter’s license could count toward the total, but the officer said it could not because the license holder had to actually be present.
The officer also reminded the men that having more than one license in the family did not allow them to stack additional limits onto the boat unless those people were there and participating.
The exchange suggested that at least some of the fishermen understood the 80-prawn limit, because one of them acknowledged that each bag was supposed to contain roughly that amount.
At that point, the officer began a full count rather than relying on what the men had told him.
The Count Climbed Well Beyond Three Limits
The counting process took several minutes, with the officer repeatedly asking the men not to interrupt because he wanted to make sure the final number was accurate.
He separated out the amount the group could legally keep and continued counting the excess prawns into additional containers.
At one point, he told them they had three legal limits plus another 52 prawns over, but that was not the final total.
The complete count later came to 532 spot prawns, according to the channel’s narrator.
That meant the group allegedly had 292 more than the legal limit of 240.
The scale of the overage made the situation much more serious than someone miscounting by a handful.
It also made the earlier statements about having only three limits harder to dismiss as a simple misunderstanding, particularly because the officer said some of the additional prawns had been stored separately in the bow.
Officer Says the Case Is Going to the Prosecutor
Once the count was finished, the officer told the fishermen they would be allowed to keep their three legal limits but that the excess prawns would be confiscated.
He then explained that he was not simply writing a ticket.
Instead, he said he was referring charges to the Island County Prosecutor and that the fishermen would later receive paperwork in the mail telling them how to proceed.
One of the men asked what the penalty might be.
The officer said he could not answer because the court would decide that, but he stressed that the alleged offenses were criminal misdemeanors rather than ordinary civil citations.
He also told the group that a misdemeanor can technically carry up to 365 days in jail, although he did not say that such a sentence was likely in this particular case.
That explanation clearly changed the tone of the encounter, as the fishermen realized they were potentially facing court rather than simply paying a fine at the boat ramp.
Failure to Present Became a Separate Issue
The officer later spoke with one of the older men in the group and explained the situation again in more detail.
He said that when he first approached, the group told him they had three limits and no additional prawns aboard.
Using his inspection authority, he then looked farther into the boat and found the extra catch.
The officer described that as a “fail to submit,” meaning the fishermen had allegedly failed to present all of their catch for inspection after being asked.
He said that offense was separate from being over the legal limit.
The officer also reminded the man that fishing licenses are subject to inspection rules and that officers are allowed to inspect boats and catch in these circumstances.
His message was straightforward: if the prawns had simply been over the limit, that would already be a problem, but hiding or failing to disclose the additional catch made the encounter more serious.
Court Records Were Not Available
Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife said it did not have court records showing the final outcome of the case.
Based on the interaction, the channel said it appeared likely that all three individuals were referred for charges related to harvesting over the limit and failing to present the catch.
Because the court disposition was not available, those allegations should not be treated as proven convictions.
What is clear from the body-camera footage is that the officer counted 532 spot prawns aboard the vessel, compared with a legal total of 240 for three people, and confiscated the excess before allowing the men to leave.
The encounter began as a routine opening-day resource inspection, but once the officer looked beyond the containers the fishermen initially showed him, it became a much larger enforcement case involving both the amount of the catch and the way it had allegedly been concealed from inspection.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
