Spiny lobsters are a key predator in Southern California’s marine environment. By eating kelp-hungry urchins, they maintain balance in kelp forest ecosystems. That’s why, for more than a century, rules have existed in California for how you can hunt the crustaceans.
However, lobster dinners are not cheap, and some are tempted to break the law. Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently announced that they caught a suspect in San Diego on June 13 with a trove of spiny lobsters, allegedly having broken just about every rule in the book.
They stopped a subject at the South La Jolla State Marine Reserve with 24 lobsters, 21 of which didn’t meet size requirements. Additionally, the lobsters had been taken out of season and had been illegally captured with a speargun…