A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer was on patrol when he spotted several people crabbing in a closed area, according to bodycam footage posted by YouTube channel Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife.
The channel’s host said the officer observed the group before making contact, which became important later because several members of the group appeared to claim they did not fully understand what had happened or how many crabs had been taken.
When the officer approached, he identified himself as Fish and Wildlife and asked the driver to shut off the truck. He also told the group that his body camera was recording both audio and video.
“What’d you guys get today?” the officer asked.
One of the people in the group replied that they had caught crabs. The officer then asked to see the crabs they had taken and began asking whether there were more still down on the beach.
At first, the answers seemed limited. One person indicated there was only one crab nearby, while others mentioned that two kids were down by the water. The officer asked for fishing licenses from everyone involved and quickly began trying to figure out how many people had been crabbing and how many crabs had actually been harvested.
The Officer Starts Counting
As the encounter continued, the officer asked to see the crabs in the truck and then asked whether there were any more in another car. The group’s answers began to shift as more crabs were brought forward.
The officer made clear that if there were crabs in the second vehicle, they needed to be shown to him. “If there’s any more crab in that car, you have to show them to me,” he said.
The situation grew more serious when the officer saw that crab had been carried away in multiple bags and vehicles. He then told the group that they had “way more” than what had first been shown.
One of the men said he did not know the others had put crabs in the vehicle, but the officer pushed back hard on that explanation because, as he put it, he had been watching them from a distance.
“Yes, you did,” the officer said. “You’ve been down there the whole time and I’ve been watching.”
That moment shaped the rest of the stop. This was not just an officer walking up and guessing what might have happened. According to the footage, he had already observed enough to challenge the group’s explanations when they tried to minimize their role.
Closed Season in Marine Area 13
The officer told the group that the area was not open for crabbing and identified it as Marine Area 13. One person appeared to believe they were in a different open area, but the officer corrected him and said they were below the Narrows Bridge.
“This is Marine Area 13,” the officer said. “It’s been closed for seven years now.”
That detail matters because crabbing rules can change sharply depending on location, and being on the wrong side of a boundary can turn what someone thinks is a legal outing into a violation. Still, the officer also pointed out that even if the waters had been open, the group would still have had to follow the legal limits.
The group discussed having several adult licenses, and one person said the limit was six crabs per licensed adult. The officer responded by counting the licenses and then counting the crabs that had already been collected.
He also refused to let the group count children toward the over-limit total in the way they appeared to be suggesting. “The kids are not getting any credit for this because this is all closed season,” he said.
When someone asked whether a kid could be counted toward the crab total, the officer asked a blunt question in return: “Do you want me to write tickets to the kids?”
The answer was no.
“You Don’t Just Carpet Bomb the Beach”
After counting the licenses and crabs, the officer explained the problem in plain language. The group had five adult licenses, which would have allowed a limit of 30 crabs if the area had been open and if those licensed people were the ones legally harvesting them.
But the officer said the group still had 29 crabs over the limit.
One person tried to explain that five more people were coming, but the officer rejected that argument because future arrivals do not create a legal right to harvest crabs in advance. The people who are licensed have to harvest their own lawful catch.
“They got to harvest their own,” the officer said. “That doesn’t mean you just carpet bomb the beach and grab every crab that’s moving.”
That line was sharp, but the point behind it was straightforward. Fish and wildlife limits are not group math that can be filled out later by people who might arrive at some point. They are built around who is present, who is licensed, where the harvest is happening, and whether the season is open.
This is one of those enforcement stops where the rule may sound simple after the officer explains it, but it is also the kind of rule people sometimes try to bend once they have already filled the bags.
Criminal Violations Treated as Infractions
The officer told the group that both the closed-season violation and the over-limit violation could have been handled as criminal matters. He said they were misdemeanors and could have required court appearances.
Instead, the officer said he was going to write the violations as infractions rather than criminal tickets. He estimated they would cost about $156 per person and told the group that was the lowest he could reasonably go under the circumstances.
“You guys are all getting tickets for closed season and for over limit,” he said. “They’re going to be infractions.”
The decision to write infractions rather than criminal charges was a notable moment because it showed the officer had discretion, even though he was clearly frustrated by what he believed was an attempt to hide the catch.
He also told the group not to switch languages and deny having crab when he asked about it, reminding them again that he had been watching the whole time.
That part of the stop is worth noting because it points to a common reality in wildlife enforcement. Officers often observe from a distance before stepping in, so by the time contact begins, they may already know more than the people being questioned think they know.
The Crabs Go Back
After finishing the count and explaining the tickets, the officer told the group they could retrieve their buckets and throw the crabs back into the water. He returned licenses, documented the encounter, and allowed the group to leave once the citations were handled.
The Arrest Cam Fish and Wildlife host presented the case as a closed-area crabbing violation that became worse because of the number of crabs taken and the way the group responded when the officer began asking questions.
From a practical standpoint, this incident is a reminder that fishing and crabbing regulations are not just paperwork rules. Closed seasons are meant to protect wildlife populations, and limits are designed to keep one group from taking far more than the resource can support.
There is also a basic lesson here for anyone harvesting fish, crab, or shellfish: know the marine area, know the season, know the limit, and make sure every person being counted toward that limit is actually licensed and legally participating.
In this case, the group seemed to believe they could explain the problem away by pointing to licenses, children, or people who were supposedly on the way. But the officer had already watched enough to know what he believed had happened, and once the crabs were counted, the closed-water outing ended with tickets instead of dinner.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
