Poacher busted with $5,000 worth of fish by snorkeling Calif. officer loses license
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Wildlife officers board the commercial marine aquaria collector’s boat to inspect catch. Courtesy of CDFW
About 25 feet beneath the sea off Southern California’s Catalina Island, David Hornbaker had his eye on some blue-banded gobies. The mesmerizing fish have bright orange bodies with thin, electric-blue stripes, and are highly sought after by marine aquaria collectors like Hornbaker for their high resale value.
Grasping a squirt bottle, Hornbaker squeezed to release an opaque, cloudy substance over some rocks where several gobies were hiding. One darted from behind a rock and into the open, where it became incapacitated and ceased to swim. Hornbaker then gathered it into a small net and placed it in a container strapped to his side.