Commercial Fishing Vessel’s Captain Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Thousands of Pounds of Red Snapper Into the United States

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on Jan. 19, 2006. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV ENRD (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSEL’S CAPTAIN PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF RED SNAPPER INTO THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hoang Nguyen, captain of the Galveston, Texas-based commercial fishing vessel Thanh Tam, pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally importing red snapper, the Justice Department announced today. Nguyen and his crewmembers had caught and retained the fish in violation of the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson–Stevens Act). Both Nguyen and a crewmember were indicted by a grand jury in Houston, Texas on Nov. 23, 2005 for offenses surrounding the illegal importation of red snapper in 2004 and 2005. The illegal importation charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

“Every year, illegal fishing and over-harvesting of depleted fish populations puts more and more marine species at risk,” said David M. Uhlmann, Chief of Environmental Crimes for the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division. “Today's plea agreement demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting egregious fisheries violations and doing our part to protect valuable natural resources.” On Mar. 2, 2005, the Thanh Tam was boarded by special agents of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement as it was returning from a commercial fishing trip which began on Feb. 22, 2005, before the red snapper commercial fishing season had officially opened. A hidden compartment that contained 5,641 pounds of red snapper was discovered beneath the vessel’s deck during a search of the vessel. More than 2,700 individual fish within the concealed compartment were less than the legal minimum size limit of 15 inches.

Historically, the red snapper fishery has been severely over-fished due to its marketability. The Magnuson–Stevens Act regulates commercial fishing activities in the waters extending from the seaward boundary of each coastal state to 200 miles out to sea. In order to ensure red snapper stocks for the future, the Magnuson–Stevens Act’s fishery management plan for the Gulf of Mexico requires that legally-permitted commercial fishing vessels only harvest red snapper during an open season, maintain a maximum single trip limitation of 2,000 pounds and take only red snapper having a minimum length measurement of 15 inches.

Nguyen’s sentencing is scheduled for Apr. 21, 2006.

This investigation was conducted by special agents from the NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement with assistance provided by game wardens with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Georgiann Cerese of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section. 06-028

Source: US Department of Justice