Howe Sound Prawn Thieves caught with photos

I passed a blue Kingfisher in the outer harbour that was headed in the direction of Vanier Park / False Creek and coming from Passage Island area. Was around noon. Wasn’t close enough to see the reg numbers or occupants, but could have been this one...
 
Matthew Przybylski said:
First of all thank you for all of your amazing work moderating, editing and keeping this forum and site such an amazing resource, it’s not an easy job. I fully agree that we can’t take the law into our own hands, that’s why I took pictures and reported appropriately. But respectfully, I really have to disagree with you on your other points. The amazing community of members that you support here on your site deserve to know about unscrupulous, dishonest and despicable people like the ones my family encountered yesterday. Forums like this and social media are one of the few ways individuals can be heard in this day and age, more information is always better. People can be that much more cautious if they see this boat in their vicinity. As for it possibly being hearsay the first picture could not be anymore clear. There is no reason for this boat to have my clearly marked float/buoy in it. Especially attached to their line hauler. This isn’t a picture of a boat after the fact it is in the process of the crime being committed. Again thank you admin for all you do.
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Glad to hear you reported it and had a good experience with the RCMP. This is exactly what should have been done and hopefully they follow up. You will notice that I stated I was not suggesting you were in anyway being misleading with your post. My statement was more of a general nature because many times when these events are posted here it is not always clear and there is plenty of suggestion of "what should be done" rather than how you handled it.

As for @capt hook, your suggestion that we are on the wrong side of the fence is interesting and easy for people to say who don't have to deal with the authorities calling or threats of lawsuits for potentially libellous comments. We are a fishing forum not a frontier justice forum. The OP handled it properly and that is all that can be done here.
 
Posting on social media can be effective. One of two things can happen, they see it themselves and realize they've been caught red handed and outed publicly... This is embarassing, even for scumbags. Or maybe someone they know sees it and tells them: "hey, I saw a picture of you on social media poaching traps", also embarassing. Poachers deserve to be outed, social pressure is likely more effective than DFO at changing their ways.
 
Bottom line, thanks for posting this, if anybody on here see’s that boat out and around crab or prawn traps keep a close eye on them and be ready to call it in.
 
Its also a reminder to poachers that you cant get away with that sort of thing now with cameras and how fast info travels.
 
Hope the RCMP follow this up.

Just a couple things to point out. That number is not a Hull Identification number. The Hull ID # will be stamped right into the hull. That bow number is a "supposed" registration number with Transport Canada. I did a search query on that boat reg number and nothing comes up. Even old numbers will come up on the query as I have looked up my own old ones before so maybe this number they are using is a fake one made up by them. Maybe not and maybe for some reason it's been taken off the TC archive. This is something that DFO, RCMP and TC should be notified of and ask them to investigate it. If you file an official request signed etc they have to follow it up.

Also to point out is that on the side of that boat there is a GA Checkpoint Yamaha business decal. As far as I can find out GA Checkpoint only has two locations; one in Port Coquitlam and one in Abbotsford. This information should also be given to the investigating departments so that they can perhaps go to GA Checkpoint for more information regarding this boat and whom the owners may be.

I also flipped one of your photo's around so it's easier to see who these douche bags are.

GA Checkpoint business logo on the boat:
D2DF8424-3C49-4DEE-8B19-6C6DC12B7995.jpeg

7B89F635-C178-4DB3-B8AB-FAAB07ADFC3F copy.jpeg

6105D856-9414-41E3-85AB-041330CB54B0 copy.jpeg
 
Just to add as well; I'm pretty sure I have seen the older guy in the yellow jacket and "paper boy" hat on the other notorious bottom fishing poaching boat that has been busted multiple times around Bowen Island in the RCA areas. The bigger two level white and blue boat that others have taken pictures of poaching on this forum. If I'm incorrect then there's two older Asian males that both like to wear "paper boy hats" (not a very common hat) while poaching our waters...
 
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The rcmp and DFO will do squat because the amount of effort and costs they have to incur and the low chances of prosecution makes it not worth their while. Sad, frustrating and very dissapointing but that's the reality. In my opinion, if you are 100% certain they pulled your gear, which you are in this case because they have your buoy with your name and number on it, the best thing to do is to take pictures and post here like you did. If they get some choice words and nasty looks when folks here see them at the ramp, in the harbor or on the water, I believe it will be more effective as a deterrent. If poachers knew that "everyone" is watching out for them and not just the owner of the trap they are poaching, I think it will make it less likely they will try again. Kind of like how uncomfortable it is for pedophiles to live in a neighorhood when everyone knows who they are and what they've done.

If they authorities won't intervene which is why this type of **** and worse(stealing gear) is continuing to happen, it's up to us to watch out for each other.
 
This reminds me of a funny but sad story. A friend who has since passed was about to loose a leg to cancer. When in to see his doctor before the surgery he told his doctor he wanted his leg saved and he wanted it. The doctor asked why. He said he wanted it for his crab trap. TRUE STORY. I laughed so hard thinking about how he was going to set up some poachers by placing this trap where it was sure to get pulled by some low lifes. Can you imagine the reaction when that came up to the surface. lol
 
profisher said:
This reminds me of a funny but sad story. A friend who has since passed was about to loose a leg to cancer. When in to see his doctor before the surgery he told his doctor he wanted his leg saved and he wanted it. The doctor asked why. He said he wanted it for his crab trap. TRUE STORY. I laughed so hard thinking about how he was going to set up some poachers by placing this trap where it was sure to get pulled by some low lifes. Can you imagine the reaction when that came up to the surface. lol
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Along w a waterproof tag that reads: "Leg of the last trap poacher. PS - I can see you" :)
 
My God!! fn read handed, don't waste your time with violence it's not worth your freedom, post up pictures and we just all have to drive right up to
the boat making sure it's the right #'s , just to let them know they’ve been red flagged, pretty sure we have stopped a few poachers in the past, tinted out blue kingfisher in Howe Sound gave him a good stare down, big command bridge in the harbour did doughnut’s around him a couple outings, trophy in the harbour and a few others, it's a tough one you catch one and a new poacher pops up every year, seems like it will never end... new boaters coming out with no clue what so ever..

slap a gps tracker on there boat...;)
 
the checkpoint sticker is probably a phony lead just like the boat number. need to keep an eye out for where they launch or moor.
 
ryanb said:
Posting on social media can be effective. One of two things can happen, they see it themselves and realize they've been caught red handed and outed publicly... This is embarassing, even for scumbags. Or maybe someone they know sees it and tells them: "hey, I saw a picture of you on social media poaching traps", also embarassing. Poachers deserve to be outed, social pressure is likely more effective than DFO at changing their ways.
Click to expand...

Great point. The best way to stop thieves, and I do call them thieves when they take something that don’t belong to them is to shame them if the police are either unable or unwilling to do anything. Posting on social media is one way. As such, I have copied these pictures and posted them on some of the Chinese fishing forums that I belong to. Believe me, a lot of those members are pissed off and are ashamed of such conducts as well . Many of them are also victims of poachers. I have personally lost 4 prawn traps and 2 crab traps this year and had to buy replacements from members. Please don’t let the conducts of certain poachers bring out the worst in you. Not all Asian on the water are poachers. Another suggestion, since not all boaters are social media savy or members of this forum, perhaps we could make copies of these indisputable pictures and post them at each of the marina that you launch your boat from. Get the message out there so others boaters can keep an eye on these idiots and all potential thieves will think real hard before they touch other people’s gears.
 
I doubt very much these guys follow the same social media that the majority of members here follow, so " calling them out" will have little effect.
Another thing to consider is the the you bait, drop and mark location of your traps. Now these thieving bastards come along and pull your gear, I don't think they really give a rats butt where the return your trap to the bottom. Now you come back to check your traps and low and behold they are not where you left them. The first thing you think is someone stole your gear. I think these guys (and similar crews we see posted here occasionally) are responsible for all of the missing traps in the Vancouver area because they pull traps and immediately leave the area before checking and dumping the traps back in the water in another location. Why hang around the area if you just lifted someone else's gear? Grab it and go!
Judging from the size of this latest boat, I don't think they could fit 4 guys and a bunch of stolen gear in it.
 
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