Free Republic

A Canadian seafood company helped buy geoduck kingpin Doug Tobin's fishing boat and finance his $1.5 million Puget Sound clam-poaching ring — all in exchange for exclusive rights to resell the stolen shellfish, according to a lawsuit filed by the Washington state Attorney General's Office. A year after Tobin was sentenced to 14 years in prison for making off with nearly 100 tons of shellfish in the region's oddest and most sophisticated wildlife-poaching ring, the Attorney General's Office accused a Richmond, B.C.-based company of fronting him much of the cash to get started. The state is seeking millions of dollars...

The red sea urchin found in the shallow waters of the Pacific Ocean is one of the Earth's longest-living animals. The small, spiny creature can last for more than 200 years with few signs of age-related disease, a US research team from Oregon and California has found. The animal, which grows to more than 15 cm across, grazes on marine plants and uses its spines to deter predators. "No animal lives forever, but these red sea urchins appear to be practically immortal," said Dr Thomas Ebert. The urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) were once considered the scourge of the sea. They ate...