East Hampton is getting crabby about a bunch of sharks.

Town officials are fishing for even stiffer laws in the war against “organized crab crime rings.”

The tougher penalties are needed to turn the tide against “vans full of” out-of-towners bagging “bushels and bushels of shellfish out of Napeague Harbor” and other waterways including Georgica Pond, the town’s attorneys said.

“They basically just start taking everything they can grab from the shallows and those two waters: from clams to scallops to conchs, hermit crabs, blue claw crabs. Pretty much grab any size of anything they can in sight,” said Chris Carillo, attorney for the town’s trustees.

The night raiders employ a lookout to alert them to Marine Patrol officers and those who are caught don’t carry ID, and because it’s merely a violation, the offenders avoid being fitted for handcuffs, Carillo said.

Carillo said the belief is that the stolen shellfish end up in New York City — most notably Queens.

“It’s quite obvious that the vehicles that have been seen are not local. Don’t have local stickers, parking passes and are not recognizable vehicles like the local commercial fisherman are,” he said.

The board and trustees agreed last year that the creation of an “aggravated” level of violation for poaching would put teeth in the law.

The current fine for shellfishing without a permit is a mere $150; Carillo wants a fine of $1,000, which would increase to $1,500 after 15 days, $2,000 after 30 days, and $2,500 after 90 days.

Carillo also this week proposed five violations to be elevated to aggravated charges, which are “arrestable” offenses, including individuals without a commercial or recreational shellfish permit who are harvesting shellfish.

“If you get convicted of a misdemeanor, it goes on your criminal record and you could spend the night in jail,” Carillo said.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc likened the “organized crab crime ring” to the surge in catalytic converter theft in automobiles, saying it’s all about “financial incentive.”

Van Scoyoc said he expects the town to have the new rules in place as early as July 6.

“We’re also looking to impound vehicles and any equipment used. Unless you are a town resident, you cannot shellfish within town waters,” he said. “We are taking this very seriously. We’re watching.”

Added Carillo: “It’s disturbing to the town officials, the trustees, the Marine patrol, and specifically those that make their lives in the water legally. Those bayman and commercial fisherman that have been here for hundreds of years.”

The story was first reported in the East Hampton Star.