MASON COUNTY, Wash. — A long and likely expensive trip from the Seattle area to Hood Canal to harvest oysters probably didn't turn out the way a group had hoped.
According to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police, Mason County shellfish harvesters took advantage of extreme low tides last month. On one weekend, WDFW Police Sergeant Jewett saw some people he believed were loading buckets of shellfish from a public beach into a minivan along Highway 101 near Potlatch State Park.
The minivan drove away and then parked in a nearby lot. The harvesters had also failed to shuck the oysters on the beach as required.
"Oysters harvested from public beaches must be shucked on the beach, and the shells must be left on the same tideland and tide height where harvested. This regulation is in place because young oysters often grow on these shells, allowing for increased harvesting opportunity in the following years," a WDFW police Facebook post said.
Sergeant Jewett asked the minivan driver if he could inspect the oysters, but was told the oysters were not his. He was a hired rideshare driver, and the people who gathered the oysters remained on the beach.
A short time later, four adults returned to the minivan. According to WDFW police, several were from the Seattle area and had hired the rideshare driver to take them all the way to Mason County.
Roughly 500 illegally harvested oysters were taken from the minivan. The daily limit in Washington is 18 per person.
The four people received citations for not having shellfish licenses, possession of unshucked oysters, possession of overlimit oysters, and possession of undersized oysters.
While it's not known if the harvesters were fined, penalties for illegal shellfish harvesting can reach the thousands, depending on the severity of the violation.