According to the state Department of Fish and Game a man has lost his fishing licence for life and also got a year in jail after poaching abalone and selling it near Mendocino over the month of February. Qiong Wang, 32, pled guilty in Mendocino County Superior Court to felony conspiracy and to taking abalone in order to sell it. He was sentenced to one year in jail and three years probation, in addition to being fined $20,000 and forfeiting all dive equipment.
Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy said that Wang was arrested on Feb. 19 in Van Damme State Park on the Mendocino coast three miles south of Mendocino. Fish and Game wardens watched Wang and David Trevors, 28, of San Francisco, for two hours as the pair allegedly kayaked into the ocean and used scuba gear to collect 55 abalone. He added that the men allegedly stashed the abalone near the beach and drove to the Sub-Surface Progression dive shop in Fort Bragg to return their rented kayak.
Foy also noted that Wang and Trevors were booked into Mendocino County Jail for felony conspiracy, the taking of abalone for commercial purposes, and other charges. The deputies found two wet duffel bags containing fresh abalone in the back seat and contacted Fish and Game warden Don Powers. While they were investigating another crime, Petaluma police also contacted Wang and Trevors in Petaluma on Feb. 2.
