Wildlife officers’ patrols confirm sturgeon and salmon poaching continue during the fisheries’ closures. Well-organized criminal networks were observed employing advanced countersurveillance techniques, underscoring the continued high demand and profitability of illegal caviar trafficking.
A combination of investigative tools, including surveillance technologies, compliance checks and vehicle stops led to the following enforcement actions:
• Covert sturgeon observations: Two groups were observed tying off illegally possessed sturgeon about 100 yards away from their fishing location in an effort to evade wildlife officers. Uniformed officers responded and issued citations for multiple violations. Both sturgeon were recovered and released alive back into the Sacramento River. Charges are pending in both cases.
• Salmon roe and crab trafficking: A Dungeness crab trafficking investigation led to the discovery that the primary suspect was also involved in salmon poaching amid the American River closure. Evidence revealed a conspiracy to illegally harvest and process salmon roe for black market distribution. Over 150 pounds of packaged salmon roe were seized, suggesting that approximately 75 salmon were illegally taken, mostly during the closure.
• Sturgeon poaching arrests: Two individuals were formally charged with take of an endangered or threatened species. One subject had a prior criminal history of salmon snagging on the American River. Snagging is defined as impaling or attempting to impale a fish in any part of its body other than inside the mouth by use of a hook, hooks, gaff or other mechanical implement.
White sturgeon fishing is limited to catch and release as the species is currently being considered for listing as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. To learn about CDFW’s sturgeon conservation efforts and best handling practices for the catch and release of white sturgeon, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Conserve-The-Sturg.
Salmon fishing on the American and Sacramento rivers has been closed since 2023 due to low abundance estimates but will reopen on some sections of the American River mid-July.
CDFW’s patrol teams will continue to monitor and investigate poaching and other illegal fishing activities. Report suspected poaching and illegal fishing to 1-888-334-CalTIP (1-888-334-2258).
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