WDFW sergeant catches group harvesting 500 oysters, nearly 28x the legal limit, near Potlatch State Park
May 5, 2026, 8:42 AM | Updated: 3:01 pm
A photo of the illegally harvest oysters in the minivan. (Photo courtesy of WDFW)
(Photo courtesy of WDFW)
A sergeant with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) witnessed four people loading buckets of oysters into a minivan along Highway 101 near Potlatch State Park.
The daily limit in Washington is 18 oysters per person, but due to the “extreme low tides,” the four individuals had unlawfully harvested approximately 500 oysters.
“Oysters harvested from public beaches must be shucked on the beach, and the shells left on the same tide land and tide height where harvested,” WDFW stated. “This regulation is in place because young oysters often grow on these shells, allowing for increased harvesting opportunity in the following years.”
When the sergeant approached the minivan, the driver revealed he was a rideshare driver hired to drive the four individuals back and forth from the beach. The four adults told WDFW they were from the Seattle area and hired the rideshare driver to take them all the way to Mason County.
The suspects received citations for not having shellfish licenses and for possessing unshucked oysters, overlimit oysters, and undersized oysters.
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