Resource Smuggler

Resource smugglers come in all shapes and sizes. The majority of them are looking for hard to find rocks, shells, seeds, flowers, and other visually attractive things that can be used in artisan crafts. There's another group of them that collect editable delicacies. Which are, even when collected legally, seen as taboo among many Talithans.
The Talithan culture is anti-consumerist in nature. Their culture puts a lot of importance in the environment. While one Talithan taking too many cave snails isn't likely to cripple the entire species. If everyone who liked them caught them at will, then the species could easily go instinct. This is true for many of the plants and creatures that reside on Talitha Harbor's great islands. While there are some species that show up on several land masses, there are also several species that are geographically bound and have a smaller number as a result.
The great islands are surrounded by many smaller islands, many with micro ecosystems that are even more sensitive to human involvement. Many of these are protected, Talithans are not even suppose to visit without permission.
There are Talithans, however, who don't agree with these rules, or don't care. There's an underground market of trading hard to find items, or trinkets made out of these. There are also people who go on illegal resource finding expeditions, wanting to collect a precious stone or other item on their own, especially in the smaller items. It's less about finding a specific item than visiting one of these locations and bringing home whatever treasure they happen to find. Passage can be paid for on a small ship to one of these locations.
The people who sail or row these vessels, depending on the construction, call themselves pirates. Though they're mainly acting as passage and not actively stealing from people. They have built their own ships, or had help from another pirate. These are not always made well and people have died while on these trips. Not a large number, but ane estimated ten to fifteen Talithans die at sea. The actual number is unknown since people who set out on these trips usually don't tell anyone.
There have been many notable smugglers throughout history. In more recent history, the The Scylla sailing ship made waves. A large sailing ship, requiring several people to build, was made with a large amount of stollen materials, most notably a large amount of sap from a tree native to Pangu. It was used to waterproof the vessel.
A repeated theft throughout their history, has been opium. The plant has been saved from Earth and grown in a special greenhouse that's been maintained from the Talithan Colony ship. Access to the greenhouse is highly controlled. But that hasn't stopped the opportunistic Health Services member from sneaking out some seeds to sell. Grows that are found outside of the greenhouses are destroyed on the spot.

Perception

History

Preservation didn't start enforcing resource laws until sol cycle 200. The population grew slowly at first and at sol 200 they had just gone over the 10,000 population mark. The vocation existed from day one, but they were primarily directing the other vocations. The institution needed to be working in a way that preserved the environement before they could require the people to do so. The vocation relied on the social norms which were already against over consumption. However, as the population grew more rules needed to be put in place.
When exactly the first resource smuggling started is not known. It's likely that there were smaller amounts of smuggling going on before the first big case. The restrictions also came slowly. The laws started with low population arthropod species, then moved onto plants. Mining restrictions also came early, though there wasn't a lot of illicit mining going on due to limited tool availability. As the population grew, more miners were needed, and more tools were available for theft.
The first big case, six months after the first laws on citizens were put in place, involved a rare blue-green moss. Some believed made their water healthier. The moss is found solely in Cristal Lake and had started to die back from over farming. Preservation made any farming of it illegal. The moss started to grow back, but some were still taking some for themselves. A citizen reported a person who'd been harvesting the moss to Preservation, and the held a Call to Council. The person was found guilty. Their sentence was six months time donated to Preservation, working as an ecologist, and learning about the planet's ecology.

Type

Illicit