Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Officer Chris Dean observed several late-night crabbers on Float 20 in Westport and went down for a compliance check over the weekend.

After issuing the pair of crabbers a warning for one minor undersized crab and violating the Westport Marina’s dawn-to-dusk rule, Officer Dean observed two more individuals crabbing in the dark at the end of Float 20. When requested, only one individual was able to provide a fishing license.

Further inspection revealed they had a cooler of undersized crab they’d never measured and were fishing with an additional piece of crab gear. Officer Dean learned the individual with the license was cited for possession of crab in a prior year.

The individual with the license was cited criminally for operating too many units of crab gear and possession of undersized Dungeness crab, and an infraction for possession of soft-shell Dungeness crab. The other crabber without a license was issued an infraction for crabbing without a license.