I know a year or so ago some guy caught a small shark off the pier in Hermosa Beach (a popular swimming area). It was about 4-5 feet long, he was saying it was a Mako. A reporter from a small local paper took some pictures and put it on the front page.
A Game Warden saw the picture and recognized it not as a mako, but a small great white! He looked up the guy's address and went to his house to collect the fish, but he had eaten it all or given it to relatives who had eaten it all. The warden was about to give up, the photo wasn't enough to charge him, but he was sure it was a great white. He'd hoped a piece of meat could have been tested for DNA....
Then he spotted the guy's souvenier hanging on the wall... the boiled jaws of his catch. He confiscated those. Great whites have very unique type of tooth, and from the jaws and teeth he was able to positively identify the species.
The guy was given a number of hours of community service, and a heafty fine... which they refused to waive.
I fish mostly sportboats. A few people have been caught over the limites, and they've started fining the boat owner/captain, as well. The captains and crews watch the fish counts much more closely, in most cases. There are a few that would rather keep their passengers happy and risk getting caught than tell them they can't keep any more 5 pound yellowfin, but ...
I have the DFG tip line in my cell phone now. Next time I see that I'll be making an annonymous call when we get in cell phone range. From what I've heard, they'll try to make it..
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