Local News in Brief : South County : Fisherman’s Bond Is Forfeited in Lobster Case
A 27-year-old Tustin man has forfeited a $570 bond for failure to appear in South County Municipal Court on charges of illegally taking spiny lobsters from ocean waters near Dana Point, a state Department of Fish and Game warden said Wednesday.
Warden Jan Yost said Michael S. Hatfield was found to have a number of undersize lobsters, plus six more than the legal limit. He also did not have a lobster measuring gauge in his boat, Yost said.
Lobster must measure at least 3 inches from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell to be captured legally.
Yost said the forfeiture of $570, made when the man did not appear in court Jan. 29, was “an unusually large amount” to pay in such a case.
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