HERMISTON, Ore. — An eastern Oregon couple has been sentenced to pay $1,200 in restitution after illegally selling recreationally caught crab on the commercial market in Hermiston, according to the Oregon State Police.
Shawna and Gerald Wilson of Hermiston also will pay $100 each to the Turn In Poachers Line fund, and they are barred from obtaining a fishing or shellfish license for three years, the East Oregonian reported.
State Fish and Wildlife troopers began an investigation after receiving a call on the TIP Line reporting crab advertised for sale on Facebook. Investigators followed up on the lead and discovered the couple selling live or cooked crab through social media, police said.
The couple listed the crab as free of charge, but with a suggested donation of $11 per pound to skirt marine fisheries laws that prohibit people from selling their personal limits of crab and other marine life on the commercial market, according to law enforcement.
At least 11 people purchased the crab through Facebook or other social media, according to Lincoln County District Attorney Kenneth Park, who prosecuted the case in May.
