The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today targeted 20 people for arrest in one of the most extensive sturgeon and abalone poaching busts in California history. At press time, DFG had 17 of those targeted in custody; the others were pending. Three separate investigations into illegal take and sales of sturgeon and abalone led to the arrests and service of seven search warrants. The operation was conducted by 29 teams of wardens deployed in the Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Hayward, Ft. Bragg, and Mission Viejo areas.

"Today, we took a step toward knocking down the significant amount of poaching that continues to imperil sturgeon and abalone in California," said Nancy Foley, DFG Chief of Enforcement. "While we are seeing an alarming increase in criminal activity, we will continue to send the message that DFG has zero tolerance when it comes to the illegal commercialization of fish and wildlife resources."

Including the Incident Command Staff, a total of 85 sworn officers were involved in the operation, as well as more than a dozen support staff. DFG was assisted by several other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. One suspect was arrested by Oregon State Police.

A complete list of individuals arrested will be made available throughout the day and at the scheduled news conference today in Cordelia, detailed below.

Highlights of the three cases in today's takedown include:

?Ģ Operation Dos Robles (abalone) ??? With a total of five arrests, this undercover investigation included a former commercial abalone diver who, over a lengthy period, illegally harvested red abalone from the Mendocino coast and sold his take to a restaurant in San Francisco, the China House Restaurant on Powell Street. The state Attorney General's office will be prosecuting the poachers in Mendocino County while the San Francisco District Attorney's office will be prosecuting the restaurants in San Francisco County. One of the divers, Lance Robles, 43, of Ft. Bragg, was arrested and convicted twice in the last 10 years for the same violations. Both Robles and Marty Holloway, 44, of Beaver Marsh, OR, were arrested in April after being caught with 26 abalone. Arrests in this case also included Lance Robles' brother, Leroy, 41, of Ft. Bragg, who sold to Bob's Sushi on Bay Street. ?Ģ Operation Mahalo (abalone) ??? Five were targeted for arrest in this case that began in 2002 from CalTIP information. It involves a group of four divers who consistently harvested abalone from the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts, subsequently selling their harvest to Jeff Chow, 35, who was arrested in Alameda. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting this case. Arrestees also included Kalen Tanaka, 42, of Hayward. ?Ģ Operation Delta Beluga III (sturgeon) ??? Ten suspects were arrested in this case that will be prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office. The investigation began in May 2005. Brothers Alexandr Krasnodemsky, 27, the ringleader of the operation, and Oleg Krasnodemsky, 27, both of Citrus Heights, were arrested today. Their brother, Nikolay Krasnodemsky, 35, was arrested in 2005 in Operation Delta Beluga II. The suspects include a group of sturgeon fisherman who harvested sturgeon from the Sacramento River and sold their catch, both meat and sturgeon roe, to individuals in the Oakland and Sacramento areas. Individuals arrested include fishermen and brokers of the sturgeon products. Both sturgeon and abalone continue to be impacted heavily by poaching. Earlier this year DFG recommended that the state enact emergency regulations after a survey last fall showed legal-sized sturgeon were at a 50-year low of about 10,000 in the Sacramento River and those numbers might not increase for the next 10 years. The regulations, which were approved by the Fish and Game Commission last March, retained the current one-fish daily bag and possession limit, but reduced the maximum size limit that may be taken or possessed from 72 inches total length to 56 inches. It is illegal in California to sell sturgeon or sturgeon parts. Sturgeon is often poached for the eggs, or roe, found in females and processed into caviar.

"Caviar can fetch up to $165 per pound on the black market," Foley said. In high-end restaurants, this same sturgeon caviar can retail for over $100 an ounce, she added.

The abalone sport split-season, open only north of San Francisco Bay for abalone 7 inches in size and longer, runs from April 1 through June 30 and from Aug. 1 through Nov. 30; July is closed. The north coast has one of the last viable populations of red abalone in the world. Continued poaching of abalone has put great pressure on this resource. Last weekend, DFG operated two vehicle checkpoints on Highway 128 in Mendocino County and Highway 1 in Sonoma County, inspecting a total of 552 vehicles. Wardens issued a total of 107 citations, and confiscated 144 illegal abalone. Abalone found in the wild cannot be sold commercially in California, and can fetch between $60 and $100 per mollusk on the black market, depending on the size.