Thanks to a vigilant Sooke RCMP officer, 125 crabs will get to live another day and four View Royal residents have been charged with fisheries offenses.
An officer was patrolling the Sooke Rotary pier area around 1:15 AM on Canada Day, when he spotted lights in the park area. When the suspects saw the officer, they attempted to flee, and threw crabbing gear into the bushes before being located a short distance away.
Three males were still in possession of buckets of live crab. The group had 124 undersized crabs, of which 110 were female. The crabs were found in their buckets and in a nearby vehicle, where police found a female, the wife of one the men.
Three males from View Royal ages 43, 66 and 69 are charged with various fisheries offences, and one female, age 43 also from View Royal is also charged. Their names have not been released.
All four will make their first court appearance on October 13th. The crabs were released back into the ocean.
