State fish and wildlife officials say a Santa Barbara County commercial fisherman has been convicted of abandoning more than 150 lobster traps in the ocean near Santa Barbara Harbor and Santa Cruz Island.
Wildlife officers say Christopher Miller had been ordered to retrieve the traps after the end of the 2021-22 lobster season. They say he failed to do so, which meant that lobsters and other sea life were trapped, and died.
Officials with the state agency say the Los Alamos man pled guilty to multiple violations, and has been ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in fines.
It took crews months to find, and remove the abandoned traps.
