ABALONE ADVISER WILL STAND TRIAL HE AND A
PARTNER ARE ACCUSED OF DIVING AT NIGHT, DIVING OUT OF SEASON,
EXCEEDING LIMITS
Published on April 10, 2001
© 2001- The Press
Democrat
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A man who was a member of a state abalone advisory
committee recommending ways to save the disappearing shellfish will
stand trial on charges he and a partner poached abalone off
the Sonoma Coast.
Joel Roberts, 37, of Santa Cruz and John Funkey, 28, of
Capitola face a felony conspiracy charge, as well as several
misdemeanor charges involving SCUBA diving for abalone at
night, out of season and taking far above the legal limit.
Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum heard testimony Monday afternoon
and determined there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial.
Since 1994, Roberts was a member of the Commercial
Abalone Advisory Committee, according to Fish and Game
officials. The statewide appointed body advises Fish and Game on
tax-funded projects to save abalone from being harvested into
scarcity or even extinction.
Following their arrests in December, prosecutors said that
Roberts had used his inside information to try to avoid game wardens
on the lookout for poachers.
While no testimony was offered Monday on whether Roberts had
special knowledge, game wardens testified about a three-day
surveillance effort in December that led to the men's arrests and
the discovery of 129 abalone in a van rented by Funkey.
Tipped by an informant, six wardens followed the pair's trail
beginning Dec. 5.
It began in Santa Cruz, where the men left home for a dive
shop in Novato and then a Petaluma motel. That night, the wardens
followed them on a coast drive as far north as Salt Point State
Park, said Warden Scott Melvin.
The pair acted suspiciously, stopping briefly at particularly
hot abalone diving sites, but apparently didn't take any
abalone the first night, Melvin said.
The second night, they were seen leaving the motel again.
Wardens, fearing the tail would be spotted, stationed themselves at
northern and southern points of Highway 1 to see when the van
returned to Petaluma, said Melvin.
The van was spotted heading south on the coast highway about
7:40 a.m., Melvin said.
Later that day, when the men drove into San Francisco, the
wardens stopped the van and arrested them.
In the back of the van were 129 mollusks, most out of the
shell, which is also illegal, wardens testified. Roberts also will
be tried for allegedly carrying about three-quarters of a gram of
cocaine.
The legal limit for abalone is four per diver per day.
SCUBA gear is not allowed, as the unsportsmanlike advantage allows a
diver to stay underwater at length and wipe out an area with little
effort.
Warden Kathy Ponting, the lead investigator on the case, said
that the pair's oxygen tanks were almost completely depleted of air,
indicating they had stayed underwater longer than is considered
safe. Prosecutor Bruce Enos said that showed they had stayed under
as long as possible to take as many abalone as they could
get.
Abalone is considered a culinary delicacy and can
bring a high price on the black market. Wardens had estimated the
haul was worth about $10,000.
Defense attorneys questioned the wardens, who acknowledged
that SCUBA diving at night for certain fish isn't illegal, and that
no one saw the two men wearing wetsuits.
The attorneys also argued that rather than being suspicious,
the pair's activity the first night might be a normal response for
innocent men who were wondering why someone was following them.
You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5249 or
e-mail rrossman@pressdemocrat.com. Keywords: FISHING CRIME
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