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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 11, 2003 Woodward’s peddling of live crab lands him in hot water By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune From the back of a Ford F-350 van parked along Crater Lake Highway on the outskirts of Medford, Boyd H. Woodward was peddling pure pleasure to the palates of those passing by. Large, bright-red Dungeness crab, their little legs skill kicking and their fat claws still pinching, danced in the van’s back like college kids doing the worm at a frat party. Take one home for about $2 a pound, and many people did. "One guy came in and bought 20 crab," said Woodward, a 66-year-old commercial crabber from Crescent City, Calif. "You got some good crab- eaters in Medford." Advertisement It turned out that Medford also had a good crab-cop on duty that day. He was Travis Henson, a former Oregon State Police fish and wildlife trooper turned Medford police officer who crossed paths Saturday with Woodward and dunked Woodward’s Dungeness business. Henson cited Woodward on two misdemeanor commercial-fishing violations for unlawfully selling the Dungeness in what police say is the latest example of a regular problem — the illegal sale of fish and shellfish to unsuspecting consumers. Whether they are sport crabbers illegally selling their catch or people selling commercially caught crab that bypass the required wholesaler process, a small group of people continue to side-step the law via roadside stands. Recently, it was the recent illegal selling of a sport-caught salmon to a Gold Beach restaurant. Several years ago, it was a handful of commercial fishermen selling 63,000 pounds of tuna out of a semi-trailer parked in a vacant west Medford. The modus operandi was almost always the same. Guys off-load their catches into trucks or vans on the coast, drive to the Rogue Valley, sell off their catch as quickly as possible and disappear before the fish and wildlife cops even know they’re there. "Midnight specials," as OSP Lt. Steve Ross called them, and the general public has virtually no way of telling whether they are legitimate or outlaws turning a dirty buck on Oregon’s natural resources. "We run in to those things all the time," Ross says. "The only way to know if they’re legit is to go check them." That’s what happened Saturday afternoon to Woodward. Woodward, who skippers the "Sand Venture" out of Crescent City, said he caught and legally landed his load of Dungeness there. Typically, crabbers sell their catch to wholesalers who process and ship the crab. When the crabbers off-load their catch, they pay a landing fee that amounts to a tax for making a living by harvesting a public resource. But Woodward decided to bypass the middleman and peddle directly to Medford crab-lovers. He said he loaded about 800 pounds of crab, drove to the corner of Highway 62 and Vilas Road and set up shop. "I pay a rental fee for the property," he says. "It’s not like I’m trespassing." Sales, he says, were brisk. The big crab — commercially-caught crab must be a half-inch wider than sport-caught crab — were live and selling for about half the cost of dead ones in local supermarkets. That’s a good deal for crab-lovers and for Woodward. "The average person is going to look at that and say, oh, shoot, that’s a really good price and that’s a really big crab," Ross says. And the corner of Vilas Road and Highway 62, it turns out, is within Medford city limits. So Medford police, who regularly deal with unlicensed roadside vendors, were asked to check whether Woodward had a $10 city business license and write a citation if he didn’t. The case fell to Henson, who just happened to be on patrol in the area. "Any other MPD officer wouldn’t have had the knowledge of the commercial fishing and crabbing laws," said Medford police Lt. Tim George, Henson’s boss. "That was bad luck for (Woodward)." Henson cited Woodward on two Class A misdemeanors for having no commercial transportation receipt and no commercial fish-dealer license. They each carry $299 bails. Woodward was scheduled to appear Jan. 7 in Jackson County Circuit Court to answer the charges. Henson, who couldn’t be located for comment, didn’t cite him for not having a city business license. Henson then sent Woodward back to Crescent City with what was left of his still-alive Dungeness. Woodward, reached by telephone Wednesday, was livid. He said he was innocent and intended to fight the charges in court. He said he believes his California retailer’s license covers him and that Oregon commercial fishing laws don’t apply in this case because the crab were landed in California, not Oregon. He acknowledged that he needed a state permit for the transportation of crab, and he intends to get one Friday. He also planned to get the Medford city business license, and he expected to be back meeting Medford crab-lovers’ needs Friday at the corner of Vilas and Highway 62. Woodward said his intentions were to be legal, and this was his first attempt at peddling crab this way. George, though, wasn’t buying it. "I was born at night," George says, "but not last night." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times