Scuba diver ticketed in lobster-poaching case

Richard Brooks - 

A Menifee scuba diver was ticketed Sunday by California Department of Fish and Game wardens who say they found him and another diver with 47 mostly illegally undersized lobsters at Laguna Beach.

Wardens spotted 30-year-old Marbel A. Para and a companion diving in the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve after midnight on Sunday, Fish and Game officials said in a statement.

“After the divers left the water and returned to their vehicle, the wardens (contacted) them and discovered 47 spiny lobsters in their possession,” according to the statement.

“The divers were well over the legal … limit of seven lobsters per diver, and all but five of the lobsters were undersize.

Para said all of the lobsters were his, and his companion was not cited, the statement said.

The incident was one of the first violations that resulted in tickets in any of Southern California’s new Marine Preservation Act reserves created Jan. 1, officials said.

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