Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents cited a Barataria man for alleged commercial fishing violations on Aug. 14 in Jefferson Parish.

Agents cited Gerry J. Helmer, 63, for theft of crab traps.

Agents were on patrol in the Barataria Waterway when they observed a shrimping vessel with a stack of serviceable crab traps on the back deck of the vessel.  Agents stopped the vessel with Helmer as the captain to perform a license compliance check and inspect the traps.

After further inspection, agents found Helmer in possession of 10 serviceable traps on his vessel that did not belong to him.  Of the 10 traps, eight of them had legible tags belonging to eight different active commercial crabbers, one trap had an unreadable tag, and one trap was untagged.

Theft of crab traps carries up to a $950 fine and 120 days in jail.

Agents participating in the case are Sgt. Thomas Wolf and Sgt. Gary Pierce.