The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is working to crack down on illegal caviar trafficking during fisheries closures, announcing recently that it seized more than 150 pounds of packaged salmon roe. The amount suggests about 75 salmon were illegally taken. Officers with the CDFW’s special operations unit and Delta Bay enhanced enforcement program were monitoring for illegal fishing activity along Sacramento Bay when a Dungeness crab trafficking investigation led to the discovery that the suspect was also involved in salmon poaching, according to the state agency. “Evidence revealed a conspiracy to illegally harvest and process salmon roe for black market distribution,” CDFW said in a press release. Meanwhile, another investigation into sturgeon poaching led to two individuals being arrested and formally charged with taking an endangered or threatened species.

Other fishery news:

• The Ukiah Daily Journal (Calif.): 4Reel Fishing: Salmon were caught last weekend​
• Redheaded Blackbelt (Humboldt, Calif.): Short but sweet: Humboldt Bay anglers celebrate two-day king salmon opener​​
• CBS San Francisco: “Forever chemicals” found in fish caught in San Francisco Bay, report warns