Busted

Sunday was a beautiful day at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. The ocean was calm, clear, and turquoise blue and the sun was shining. Divers were going out  and coming in with smiles, chatting about the excellent conditions. Families were scattered across the sand as parents monitored children playing in surf and jumping off the cement walkway. I was standing out on the walkway watching kids jump into the water and waiting for a pair of Scuba Squad divers to come in so I could get an “okay” from them. Looking down in the water, something caught my attention. It was a white buoy with about ten dead fish attached. As I was trying to figure out how the buoy could have killed the fish, my divers came swimming in. After getting their “okay” I pointed down to the dead fish. One of the divers, who is also a spear fisherman and whom we will call The Neoprene Crusader, went over and looked. He pulled his head out of the water and without hesitation said, “That is so illegal.” It was then I realized what was going on. The fish were the catch of a spear fisherman, and, while normally our response would be “great catch, dude,” on the east side of Lover’s (where we were) it is illegal to catch anything. Our conversation caught the attention of a man and what looked to be his grown son standing near on the walkway. The Neoprene Crusader yelled, “Are these your fish?” The man said they were his and when The Neoprene Crusader informed him of his illegal move the man began to defend himself (in not the most polite way).

The Neoprene Crusader and his buddy, whom we will call Nemo, got out of the water and headed up the walkway, but before he left he asked me to take some pictures of the situation. I got pictures of the fish, the men, and their spearfishing gear. By the time I was done The Neoprene Crusader was already back, still in his wetsuit but with his cell phone to his ear. Seeing what was happening the two men hurriedly packed up and began walking toward the parking lot in their wetsuits and with their yellow gear bags. The Neoprene Crusader and I followed. We trailed the two men to the parking lot where they met up with a woman, but realizing we were still behind them they all continued through the parking lot and up 17th Street. We followed. The Neoprene Crusader was having some trouble getting Fish and Game on the phone. We were determined to get a license plate so even if they eluded us they could be found. We walked a few blocks up 17th and then the woman turned around and headed back toward the beach. We walked a bit further and The Neoprene Crusader said I could go on back but that he’d be willing to follow them for miles. I agreed because I wanted to check in with the rest of the divers.

I headed back toward the beach, but on my way past the parking lot I got curious. Where had the woman who was with them gone? I walked through the parking lot, and low and behold, there she was getting into a car. I took down the make, model, and license plate number. When I got back to the divers everyone was curious as to what was going on. When they heard the situation they agreed with the cause and wanted to help. I asked Nemo for The Neoprene Crusader’s phone number and  texted the car identification information to him. Shortly after, The Neoprene Crusader called and said he had gotten ahold of Fish and Game and he was headed back toward the beach. I of course thought that meant the chase was over, but I was wrong. The two men had split up and The Neoprene Crusader was following the one with the fish, who was now booking it back to Lover’s West.

With this information another member of Scuba Squad, whom we will call Harbor Seal, went off to scout out the situation as they came down 17th. We watched, and no sooner had he headed off, when here comes the man with his yellow gear bag with The Neoprene Crusader a few blocks behind. Harbor Seal fell in on the other side of the street so now both men were in pursuit. The man with the yellow pack headed down the steps to Lover’s West. While passing the parking lot for, The Neoprene Crusader noticed the game warden’s truck parked but the wildlife officer was not in it. He told Harbor Seal to watch the guy to make sure he did not dump the fish. He ran off, still in his wetsuit, to find the officer. Harbor Seal, in Brad Pitt/Ocean’s Eleven fashion with sunglasses and all, leaned against the rock wall and covertly peered over the edge to keep an eye on the culprit. The Neoprene Crusader located the officer and, with the three of us being witnesses and the pictures I had taken, the guy was so busted. The officer brought him over to his truck and not long after the other man came over to share in the punishment. The men were charged $500 per fish and threatened with jail time. They walked away with a $5000 fine.   

I left the beach that day very proud of the group effort made by Scuba Squad members. Rules are in place for a reason. Whether you agree with the rules, of course, is completely up to you, but if you choose to not be amenable to them you risk the consequences. Do not mess with Scuba Squad.