California Fish and Game officials estimate that poaching — the illegal taking of wildlife — is a $100 million problem. Two of the most sought-after animals are red abalone, found off the coasts, and caviar-producing white sturgeon, which live in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta.
California Connected follows a statewide Fish and Game operation, that results in the arrrests of more than a dozen persons suspected of violating poaching rules. The program also goes into the desert with Warden Kyle Chang, one of the department’s specialists on reptile poaching.
- California Department of Fish and Game
- California Fish and Game Code
- “Killer Abs”, Outside magazine profile on abalone poaching
- Abalone entry in Wikipedia
- California Abalone from Calisphere, the University of California’s digital archive.
- California Caviar, the California Connected story that lead us into the world of sturgeon poaching.
- Fishing Regulations, California Department of Fish and Game
- California Department of Fish and Game FAQs