A Juneau man known to some locals as the “Shrimp Guy” pled no contest Friday to one count of operating commercial Dungeness crab gear out of season.
According to a trooper dispatch, Dennis J. Capua, 60, was investigated by Juneau wildlife troopers. He was charged for failing to remove at least 64 commercial Dungeness crab pots near Stephens Passage after the season had closed Aug. 15.
It’s not the man’s first violation for fishing out of season.
In 2001, Capua was found guilty of negligently storing a shrimp pot. He was fined $3,000 with all of it suspended, and was fingerprinted and put on probation for one year.
In 2011, Capua was found guilty of illegally storing commercial shrimp pots. Capua had left 88 commercial shrimp pots near Endicott Arm, south of Juneau, after the district was closed to commercial shrimping. Capua was told not to commit any more fishing violations and was given one year of probation and a $6,000 fine with $3,000 suspended.
He got nearly the same punishment for his most recent violation; this time he’ll be on probation for 18 months.
According to the Department of Commerce, Capua had a business license for Coronation Seafoods from 1996 until 2005. The Juneau Empire has profiled Capua at least twice — in a 2001 story he was called the “Shrimp Guy.” In both stories he says he first started selling live prawns at Harris Harbor during the Thanksgiving storm of 1984. His most recent commercial fishing license was issued in October.
