Thief caught on camera stealing live crabs from Morro Bay fish market

MORRO BAY, Calif. -- A thief with an appetite for fresh Dungeness crab was caught on surveillance video breaking into a Morro Bay fish market's tank over the weekend.

Footage shows a man break the locks on the tanks at Giovanni's Fish Market on Saturday. He is then seen reaching for the live crabs and dropping them in a cooler.

The thief made off with 15 to 20 crabs, which equates to a loss of several hundred dollars. Currently, the shellfish is going for $19 per pound.

Owner Giovanni DeGarimore says he thought it was a false alarm when he got the call from the alarm company around 3:45 a.m.

"I pulled up the camera on my phone and sure enough I saw this gate was open about a foot and I was like, 'Oh my!'" DeGarimore explained.

DeGarimore says it looks like the crab crook had some experience.

"To be able to take two and put them in your car like this, it takes some skill," DeGarimore explained. "If you get anywhere on the wrong part of the business end here, they'll break your finger."

Degarimore posted the surveillance footage on Facebook. As of Monday afternoon it had more than 17,000 views.

The police department is currently investigating possible leads.