2 arrested in large-scale shellfish poaching operation
QUILCENE, Wash. -- For more than a year, investigators with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife stood watch in the dead of night for illegal shellfish harvests.
The surveillance led to a major bust of what the state described as a significant shellfish poaching operation.
Officials arrested two men, Rod Clark, 45, and Donald Owens, 43, both of Quilcene. Clark was under investigation of five counts of illegal possession of firearm and Owen of first degree theft, possession of stolen property and failure to report commercial shellfish harvesting.
Officials said Clark's G&R Quality Seafood in Quilcene appears to have sold more shellfish than it is capable of farming.
"Members of that company were out on grounds that they had absolutely no harvest right to harvest shellfish off of," said Chief Dep. Mike Cenci. "The public unknowingly ate stolen property."
Cenci said detectives believe the seafood company employed harvesters, including Owens, to take thousands of pounds of oysters and hard-shell clams from state and private tidelands in the Quilcene, Dabob and north Hood Canal areas.
"Conservatively, we're talking about at least 300,000 oysters and thousands of pounds of hard shell clams," Cenci said.
The shellfish take is estimated to be valued at several hundred thousand dollars. G&R resells its catch at Western Washington farmer's markets from Lake Forest Park to Issaquah, as well as to wholesalers as far away as Brooklyn, N.Y., Cenci said.
When asked about the allegations, Clark said, "I'm not really going to state anything about any denial. I'm not really certain of the allegations."
But investigators are certain of their findings. A search of Clark's business 300 pounds of hard-shell clams, 100 pounds of oysters, two barges, a 16-foot fiberglass vessel, a van and firearm, which Clark is not allowed to own as a result of his prior felony conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine in Montana.
Cenci said the state believes Owens and others illegally gathered hundreds of thousands of shellfish from tidelands managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Parks and private lands.
"They did not have certification to harvest," he said. "This is a big deal from a human health and safety standpoint, and this is a big deal in terms of stealing your natural resources."
With proper certification, each bag of shellfish harvested is marked with a number issued to the certified party, which allows authorities to trace contaminated or polluted shellfish back to its origin if someone is sickened by it.
The investigation is not over. Cenci said additional arrests are likely.
"This has been an intensive investigation and it will continue to be," Cenci said. "There is a lot of evidence to be analyzed before we get our arms around the breadth of the illegal activities."
Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News.
The surveillance led to a major bust of what the state described as a significant shellfish poaching operation.
Officials arrested two men, Rod Clark, 45, and Donald Owens, 43, both of Quilcene. Clark was under investigation of five counts of illegal possession of firearm and Owen of first degree theft, possession of stolen property and failure to report commercial shellfish harvesting.
Officials said Clark's G&R Quality Seafood in Quilcene appears to have sold more shellfish than it is capable of farming.
"Members of that company were out on grounds that they had absolutely no harvest right to harvest shellfish off of," said Chief Dep. Mike Cenci. "The public unknowingly ate stolen property."
Cenci said detectives believe the seafood company employed harvesters, including Owens, to take thousands of pounds of oysters and hard-shell clams from state and private tidelands in the Quilcene, Dabob and north Hood Canal areas.
"Conservatively, we're talking about at least 300,000 oysters and thousands of pounds of hard shell clams," Cenci said.
The shellfish take is estimated to be valued at several hundred thousand dollars. G&R resells its catch at Western Washington farmer's markets from Lake Forest Park to Issaquah, as well as to wholesalers as far away as Brooklyn, N.Y., Cenci said.
When asked about the allegations, Clark said, "I'm not really going to state anything about any denial. I'm not really certain of the allegations."
But investigators are certain of their findings. A search of Clark's business 300 pounds of hard-shell clams, 100 pounds of oysters, two barges, a 16-foot fiberglass vessel, a van and firearm, which Clark is not allowed to own as a result of his prior felony conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine in Montana.
Cenci said the state believes Owens and others illegally gathered hundreds of thousands of shellfish from tidelands managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Parks and private lands.
"They did not have certification to harvest," he said. "This is a big deal from a human health and safety standpoint, and this is a big deal in terms of stealing your natural resources."
With proper certification, each bag of shellfish harvested is marked with a number issued to the certified party, which allows authorities to trace contaminated or polluted shellfish back to its origin if someone is sickened by it.
The investigation is not over. Cenci said additional arrests are likely.
"This has been an intensive investigation and it will continue to be," Cenci said. "There is a lot of evidence to be analyzed before we get our arms around the breadth of the illegal activities."
Peninsula Daily News is a media partner of KOMO News.