2 accused of illegally selling caviar, steelhead, salmon

[Special T]

ucwarden... Why don't you start off fresh and tell us about some basic problems of commercial poaching. I'm guessing you could shed some light on the recent poaching cases of certain Russian sounding named individuals who were caught  stealing out of the fish trap on lake Lenore, or the other recent cases.

As a warden you no doubt no that many wardens have a bad rep for "customer service" You apparently have that figured out int he right way... I can tell you that 99% of sportsmen can get behind hammering commercial poachers for profit even tho they may not be too excited for being pinched for having their barbed hook insufficiently crimped down...

[ucwarden]

Special T;

Thanks for getting past the improper posting debate.

I worked 26 years in uniform and the last 8 as a detective in WDFW.  As a detective I was tasked with large-scale cases, primarily trafficking cases.
The case, regarding the Russians, which began this post was one of the cases I worked undercover in Operation Cody.  At the end of the case we ended up with over 100 suspects in multiple states (most in Washington).

When I started the operation I wanted to focus on wildlife, as I came from the Game Dept. side (vs Fisheries).  The proposed operation was opposed by the WDFW chain-of-command, because they prefer working shellfish cases above all else.  In the detective unit (5-8 detectives), called SIU, I was the only one who focused on wildlife, while all others were assigned shellfish cases.  I don't have enough time here to explain how frustrating it was working for a chain-of-command which placed shellfish above all else.

Once I began the operation I was absolutely shocked by how common the trafficking of deer, and elk carcasses (meats) is, as well as eagles, bighorn and mountain goats.  Bear I expected, but not the thousands of pounds of deer and elk meat which was sold to us.

Your fish and wildlife are protected by WDFW enforcement, but (in my opinion) not equally.  The uniformed officers do their best to protect all equally, but for trafficking cases it takes a lot of time and money.

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you want, and I will try my best to answer them.

[Special T]

Since i live on the wet side have heard about lots of long line crab poaching in addition to geo duck poaching. Why do you think shell fish get so much more attention?  BTW that seems to be a common thread and complaint with many hunters.

[bobcat]

ucwarden,

Thanks for coming back to post. I'm not sure why some are giving you a hard time. Personally I never noticed any kind of an "attitude."

Anyway, I'm hoping you will stick around and share some stories.

I'm really looking forward to reading your book!

[6x6in6]

ucwarden,

Thanks for coming back to post. I'm not sure why some are giving you a hard time. Personally I never noticed any kind of an "attitude."

Anyway, I'm hoping you will stick around and share some stories.

I'm really looking forward to reading your book!

 

ucwarden, I'm going to send you a PM requesting the Amazon link as I would like to purchase the book.

[ucwarden]

Special T:

To answer your question on why WDFW gives more attention to shellfish, than to wildlife, here is my opinion.
I believe this occurs for three reasons;
1)  Shellfish cases are easier to work.  When people harvest shellfish (legally or illegally), they are almost always witnessed.  Harvesting occurs on the open water or on beaches, which are easily seen from a distance.  I don't need to tell you how easy it is to kill a big game animal without being seen, but it's damned tough to harvest shellfish without being witnessed.  Also; all shellfish (and fish) commercially harvested must be documented every step of the way; fish tickets, wholesale and retail receipts etc., so it's easy for WDFW to go back and compare the documents to look for discrepancies (i.e.- if a person sells more shellfish than he or she has reported harvesting, then something is going on).
2) There is more money involved in shellfish cases.  Illegal shellfish harvest can easily get into the $100,000 range, while illegal commercial harvest of wildlife is generally in the 100's of dollars range.
3)  Up until recently, the chief of WDFW enforcement (Chief Bjork) was a former state patrol deputy chief (with no experience as a game warden) and the deputy chief of WDFW (Mike Cenci) was a former fisheries officer, who again had no experience as a game warden.  The deputy chief was the one who made the decisions on prioritization of case work, and he clearly didn't think big game was anywhere near as important as shellfish (a bias he brought with him from Dept. of Fisheries).

If any of you were to ask why SIU (the WDFW statewide investigative unit) spent a disproportionate amount of time, money and effort on shellfish, the answer you would likely receive was that there is more illegal activity in shellfish than in wildlife.  That is simply not true.  I was one detective, in a group of 6 (at the time), and yet when I set out to focus on wildlife trafficking I came up with over 100 suspects (all involved in illegal trafficking in wildlife) in only 14 months.  The case work is there, and it won’t stop, but it is tougher to make cases on.

It should tell all of you something that all but one of the WDFW detectives are on the west-side of the state, when the vast majority of the big game cases I made were on the east-side.

The reason I am making these posts now, is that WDFW has a "changing of the guards".  Chief Bjork just retired, and Deputy Chief Cenci demoted to a marine captain position (they have not yet filled the deputy chief position), so this is the time for all citizens to stand up and insist that all fish, shellfish, and wildlife be given equal attention!  Every day, poachers are slaughtering your wildlife in order to fuel their greed and/or drug habits.  It won't stop, but you can insist that WDFW do their best to curb it.
 

[ucwarden]

6x6 in 6:

Email me at ucwarden@gmail.com.  I didn't get a message on this system (I am not real good at navigating this system)

[singleshot12]

ucwarden,

Thanks for coming back to post. I'm not sure why some are giving you a hard time. Personally I never noticed any kind of an "attitude."

Anyway, I'm hoping you will stick around and share some stories.

I'm really looking forward to reading your book!

Commercial poaching(the real problem) I'm sure accounts for the majority of wildlife stolen from us so it should get most to all the attention until it is curbed, IMO
One sore subject in my book is what happened to our "white sturgeon" fishery in such a short time. Within just a couple years poachers depleted them to the point where we now have a total retention closure here. I know there has been some efforts to stop the poaching but obviously there wasn't enough. We as sportsmen need to support f&w enforcement and insist commercial poaching be the center of attention until it's stopped.

[ucwarden]

Singleshot12:

You are right on target (no pun intended).  While I have no idea what percentage of poaching is for commercial purposes, vs. individual slobs, Operation Cody opened my eyes (and the eyes of lot's of others) just how widespread commercial poaching really is in Washington.

One thing I found, from working the operation is that before this operation uniformed officers (myself included, when I was in uniform) assumed that when they caught someone with a mass over-limit of shellfish (i.e.- 600 crab) it was for commercial purposes, but the same was not true when we caught someone poaching wildlife.  Until this operation, it never crossed my mind that someone caught with a couple of illegal deer might be selling them to restaurants, but now we all know better.

Sturgeon have really taken a beating, and they are largely targeted for commercial purposes, but so are a lot of other critters.

[Special T]

It would appear that commercial poaching is more evident in shell fish cases. What kinds of signs point to a commercial operation in wildlife, and what would your educated guess be as to the % break of guys making a bad decision and those doing it for profit?

[ucwarden]

It may "appear" that commercial poaching is more evident in shellfish cases, but I now don't believe that to be true.
There are a couple of problems with determining just how much is lost to commercial poaching, whether it is shellfish, fish or wildlife.
The first problem is defining what "poaching" is.  Some would say any unlawful taking or possession is poaching.  Under than simplistic definition, a person fishing for salmon with barbed hooks is "poaching" salmon.  I think most of us would agree that is not the case.  Many of the shellfish "poaching cases" WDFW claims are really a matter of tax evasion, not what I would consider poaching (although it does result in over-harvest).  Many commercial shellfish harvesters have been caught under-reporting their harvest, so they don't have to pay taxes on all of their harvest.

When it comes to wildlife, it's a whole different ballgame, since people killing deer, elk, sheep and eagles for profit aren't paying any taxes or filling out any paperwork. 

As for a guess or estimate on the % of illegal wildlife harvest for commercial purposes vs. recreational harvest; that's a really tough one.  Until Operation Cody, WDFW had only scratched the surface on commercial wildlife trafficking.  I have done a ton of bear gall bladder trafficking cases, so we knew that was huge, but to the best of my knowledge only one or two deer and elk meat trafficking cases had ever been made in Washington...until this operation.

In Operation Cody, just one single suspect (who was the leader of an organized gang of criminals) was selling in the neighborhood of 12-15 elk each month. 

It's really impossible for me to answer your percentage question, as it varies widely from species to species.  For example, I would guess that a huge percentage of eagles poached are poached for profit, while deer are likely much lower. 

Sorry to sound evasive on your question, but I simply don't know.  During the operation we did business with four different restaurants which were all buying deer, elk, bear, game birds and even cougar, from commercial poachers.  That was a shock to me. 

I truly believe the problem is enormous, but I don't know of any way to quantify the situation at this point.  Only more such operations would tell, but I am not sure you will see any such work in the future, as shellfish is king.
 

[Fl0und3rz]

Thanks ucwarden for your perspective.  You have been very thoughtful and considerate in your second approach to engaging the community here. I am sure that many appreciate it and will give your book and the issues involved another thought as a result.

[JLS]

How many of the suspects from the operation were investigated and/or charged?

[ucwarden]

Thanks ucwarden for your perspective.  You have been very thoughtful and considerate in your second approach to engaging the community here. I am sure that many appreciate it and will give your book and the issues involved another thought as a result.

You are very welcome. 

[ucwarden]

How many of the suspects from the operation were investigated and/or charged?

Those are two different questions.  How many were investigated?  My partner and I made over 600 contacts on this operation.  We decided early on that we did not want to sweep up any "dummies" (people who didn't know what they were proposing to deal in was illegal), so the vast majority of the people who contacted us; we ended up not doing business with after we told them what they were doing was illegal.  They were "investigated", but set free.

Out of those suspects who knew full well they were committing crimes (almost all of the crimes were felony level), we ended up making transactions (purchase or sale of illegal wildlife) with about 80 or so.  Once we did search warrants and interviews, we ended up passing the 100 suspect milestone. 

Our chief had promised me 2 years on this operation, so that we could take in two complete hunting seasons, but the deputy chief shut us down making contacts with new suspects after only 14-months, so we only got to run it one hunting season (not that the seasons made a big difference to these guys).

Had we be allowed to run the operation for the 24-months, as promised, we would have really cut a swath through the black-market, but such is life in WDFW.  Now if we had been working Geoduck, we would still be going (shellfish rules- I found out).

Hope that answers your question?