Given the right circumstances, thieves will steal almost anything of value, and lately their interest seems to have turned to the bountiful blueberry fields of Washington and Hancock counties.

At least one producer Down East has seen several thefts of the fruit in recent days, prompting the business to offer a reward for information that might help find the culprit.

“I know for a fact that some private growers have reported a half-acre here and a half-acre there stolen,” said Ragnar Kamp, general manager of Cherryfield Foods. “Another producer said someone had broken down a fence to steal berries.”

Cherryfield Foods recently placed an ad in a local weekly newspaper offering a $5,000 reward to “anyone providing information that leads to the apprehension of person or persons stealing or transporting stolen blueberries from Cherryfield Foods land.” Anyone with information can call 564-3902.

Kamp said there’s no way of knowing how many blueberries have been stolen until producers take inventory at the end of the season.

“From our own point of view, we haven’t seen evidence that someone has illegally raked our own lands, but we work with a number of private growers to provide all or part of the farm work for them,” he said. “So even if it happens on private land, it can affect us.”

Although Kamp said he was unaware of any direct thefts from Cherryfield Foods land yet, he hoped the reward might act as a deterrent.

August is the primary month for blueberry harvesting, a large seasonal enterprise that draws hundreds of migrant workers to Washington County.

Theft of blueberries always has been a concern Down East, but it was a big problem in the late 1990s when the fruit’s price was particularly high, according to Kamp. Since then, growers and producers have increased their security measures.

“We have people around-the-clock that are watching our fields. It’s quite a patrol,” he said. “When the price of blueberries dropped, thefts disappeared a bit, but now it seems that this has reared its ugly head again. It’s just unbelievable that someone is doing this.”

While the average price for this year has not been determined, a recent USDA report listed the price paid for Maine wild blueberries in 2006 at 81 cents a pound, a 15-cent increase from the 2005 price. In some years, some blueberry fields have produced up to 12,000 pounds of the fruit per acre. The amount can vary widely from field to field and year to year, and it is too early to estimate the quantity of this year’s crop.

Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith said he had a meeting within the last six weeks with other law enforcement agencies and local growers about the issue of blueberry theft.

“Because it’s been an ongoing issue in the past and the price seems to be up this year, we decided to discuss it,” Smith said Thursday. “We basically agreed to handle it like any other complaint. We do patrol those areas but as it is we’re stretched pretty thin; we have the whole county to take care of.”

However, Smith said he wasn’t aware of any thefts recently and his office hasn’t logged any official reports.

Hal Prince with the Maine Department of Agriculture said his office conducts audits at the request of the Maine Blueberry Commission.

The Maine Department of Agriculture requires growers and distributors to keep transport numbers and requires certificates for those transporting berries to guard against the sale of stolen fruit.

Like Smith, Prince said he hadn’t heard of any problems with stolen blueberries so far this year.

Kamp said Cherryfield Foods has been working with the sheriff’s departments in both Washington and Hancock counties as well as the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office.

“We have our suspicions; we feel we know who this is,” Kamp said.

Anyone with information about the theft of blueberries can call the Washington County Sheriff’s Department at 255-4422.