BELLINGHAM - Two Canadian men were arrested early Monday, Oct. 17, for allegedly poaching at least $3,000 worth of crab in U.S. waters.

Steven Brian Stark, the crabbing boat's skipper, and Vincent Charles Cassidy, his deckhand, are accused of using dozens of unmarked crab pots to covertly fish "well south of the border," said Washington State Fish & Wildlife Police Sgt. Russ Mullins.

The boat was discovered by Customs and Border Protection agents on a routine patrol.

More than 1,000 pounds of crab were found on the boat, Mullins said. About 40 brand new crab pots also were recovered, and Fish & Wildlife officers are using grappling hooks to search for more pots that may have been used.

The same boat had been cited for fishing in U.S. waters on July 31, Mullins said.

For a first offense, a boat is cited, impounded and released, costing owners about $10,000, said Mike Cenci, deputy chief of Fish & Wildlife Police. A second offense can lead to arrests.

There's some evidence that the pair may have been fishing the area for weeks, Mullins said.

Normally, each crab pot has to have a floating buoy attached to it, Cenci said, but Stark and Cassidy had several crab pots strung together without any sign on the surface that the area was being fished.

Both suspects were booked into Whatcom County Jail on investigation of a commercial fishing violation. Stark was held at $50,000 bail; Cassidy was held at $25,000 bail.

Each year, Mullins said, Fish & Wildlife makes about three or four similar busts in waters between Tacoma and the U.S.-Canada border.