crab thieves nabbed

For immediate release: April 29, 2008
Contact: Joy M. Hill, 352-732-1225 or 352-258-3426

A Putnam County man and two Brevard County men found out recently that robbing commercial blue crab traps is serious business in Florida and could land them in prison.

In the Putnam County case, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Jeff Hickman and Lt. George Pottorf arrested George Edward Ayer Jr., 34, of Interlachen, on April 27 and charged him with molestation/theft of blue crab traps - a third degree felony. He was booked into the Putnam County jail.

Commercial crabbers in the area complained to the FWC that someone was robbing their traps and officers spent weeks watching for the culprit. Their vigilance paid off when they apprehended a suspect on April 27 in the Crystal Cove area of the St. Johns River.

"I guess you could say he had his hand in the cookie jar," Pottorf said. "He pulled the traps up and took the blue crabs out while we watched. We caught him red-handed."

The second case was April 23 in the Barge Canal and Sykes Creek in Brevard County. The complaints were similar -- commercial crabbers told FWC officers their traps were being tampered with. The FWC set up surveillance in the complaint area and waited.

In this incident, officers watched two commercial fishermen cut buoys off other crabbers' traps and then move a buoyed trap to another location. One of the men pulled the crabs out of the trap.

Willam C. Korecky, 44, and his brother, Robert C. Korecky, 24, both of Cocoa, were arrested for molesting crab traps. William is also facing theft charges for taking crabs from one of the traps. Both were booked into the Brevard County jail.

Robbing from blue crab traps is a statewide problem. If convicted, violators face penalties of up to five years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine.

Blue crab is a restricted species which means the number of people that can harvest them commercially is limited. In fact, to get a restricted species endorsement (permit) to harvest blue crabs on a saltwater products license, commercial fishermen have to prove that a certain percentage of their income is derived from the sale of blue crabs.

"When someone robs a blue crab trap, it is the same thing as robbing someone of their livelihood. It's a serious problem," Pottorf said.

The placement of traps is critical to a commercial crabber's success and when someone pulls one up and throws it back into the water haphazardly, there is a good chance it won't end up in a good position to trap crabs.

But people who want crabs for supper don't have to steal someone else's. Anyone with a valid recreational saltwater fishing license may harvest crabs in traps as long as the traps meet certain criteria. Recreational crabbers are limited to using five traps which must be marked with a buoy with the letter "R" painted on it. The letter "V" designates a commercial crab trap. The name and address of the crabber must also be permanently attached to the trap. And, each trap must have three escape rings so smaller crabs can escape, as well as a biodegradable panel or device that will deteriorate so crabs will not be forever trapped, if the trap line is cut or the trap is abandoned.

To report crab trap robbers and other violations please call the 24-hour toll-free Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward if their information leads to an arrest.

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