Investigators at San Francisco pier find fake wall hiding illegal fish

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KSBW) — A commercial fisherman was busted in San Francisco for attempting to hide thousands of pounds of illegally caught fish, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week.

Investigators from the department witnessed the angler unloading burlap sacks of fish from a trawler docked at Pier 45, a historic pier that’s home to the Musée Mécanique and USS Pampanito. CDFW said the angler was tailed to an unspecified restaurant, where they “attempted to flee and hide fish.” When investigators probed the owner’s trawler, they allegedly discovered a fake wall. “Behind the false wall were fillets of salmon,” a news release from the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association said.

CDFW investigators seized 2,365 pounds of halibut from the angler, as well as “filleted salmon, sole and sanddabs that had not been declared as a commercial catch for retail sale.” The fish didn’t go to waste, though; CDFW officials sold it the next day and donated the money to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.

Although no criminal charges have been filed yet — the news release did not name a suspect — a complaint has been filed with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

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