WILMINGTON - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that today in federal court, DAVID SAUNDERS, JR., 46, of Poplar Branch, North Carolina, and MICHAEL POTTER,59, of Bayboro, North Carolina pled guilty to federal charges regarding the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic striped bass from federal waters off the coast of North Carolina.
According to the Indictments and information in the public records, in February 2010, a Special Agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received information that commercial trawlers were illegally fishing for Atlantic striped bass in federal waters off the coast of North Carolina. Since 1990, there has been a ban on the harvesting of Atlantic striped bass in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ") which spans between 3 miles and 200 miles seaward of the U.S. Atlantic coastline.
Upon receiving the information, NOAA engaged the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard. A single patrol vessel in the area intercepted one of 17 commercial trawlers in the EEZ, (the fishing vessel Lady Samaira), and boarded the vessel. At the time of the boarding, the Lady Samaira was captained by Defendant Ellis Leon Gibbs, Jr.
Given the other commercial trawlers in the same area, NOAA conducted an analysis of electronic data and written reports from those vessels. Based on its review, NOAA determined that in seven separate fishing trips between Jan. 27, 2009, and February 9, 2010, SAUNDERS, then Captain of the Bridgot Denise, a commercial trawler, harvested approximately 14,579 pounds of Atlantic striped bass from the EEZ, which he sold to a fish dealer in Wanchese, North Carolina. The estimated fair market retail value of the 14,579 pounds of illegally harvested fish exceeds $116,000.
To conceal the illegal harvests, SAUNDERS submitted false statements under penalty of perjury to NOAA, claiming he caught the fish in state waters on all but one of his fishing trips. On five of those seven federal vessel trip reports, SAUNDERS claimed he harvested the fish in the Albemarle Sound - internal state waters where trawling for striped bass is prohibited by state law.
Based on this same review, NOAA also determined that POTTER, then Captain of the Jane Carolyn, a commercial trawler, was fishing for Atlantic striped bass 9 nautical miles from the coast of North Carolina on the same day that the Lady Samaira was boarded. NOAA further determined that between February 8, 2010, and Feb. 13, 2010, POTTER harvested approximately 4,305 pounds of Atlantic striped bass from the EEZ, which he sold to fish dealers in Wanchese and Lowland, North Carolina. In an interview in July 2014, POTTER admitted that he knew it was illegal to harvest Atlantic striped bass from the EEZ, but falsely denied ever doing so. The estimated fair market retail value of the 4,305 pounds of illegally harvested fish exceeds $34,000.
During the winter 2010 Atlantic striped bass ocean trawl season, it is estimated that over 90,000 pounds of North Carolina’s 160,000 pound ocean trawl quota were taken illegally from the EEZ.
Six other commercial fisherman previously entered guilty pleas for conduct uncovered by the same investigation. United States v. Dewey W. Willis, Jr., No. 2:15-CR-3-BO, United States v. James Ralph Craddock, No. 2:15-CR-7-BO, United States v. Joseph Howard Williams, No. 4:15-CR-2-BO; United States v. Ellis Leon Gibbs, Jr., No. 4:14-CR-9-BO, United States v. Dwayne J. Hopkins, 2:15-CR-8-BO, and United States v. John Roberts¸ No. 4:15-CR-3-BO.
“These prosecutions make clear that efforts to circumvent laws regulating commercial fishing -- which are implemented to sustain the species for the benefit of future generations -- will be enforced vigorously," said U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We are pleased to partner with our colleagues at DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section in these important cases."
Manny Antonaras, Acting Assistant Director for the NOAA’s Southeast Office of Law Enforcement stated, "NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement is committed to ensuring a level playing field for law abiding fishermen and coastal communities that rely upon our nation’s living marine resources. When people cheat the system, it hurts those who follow the rules the most."
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for the Court’s June 5, 2017, term of court. SAUNDERS and POTTER each face a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the Law Enforcement Offices of NOAA, with assistance of the Investigative Service from the U.S. Coast Guard, the North Carolina Marine Patrol, and the Virginia Marine Police. This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Banumathi Rangarajan of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and Trial Attorneys Shennie Patel, Shane Waller, and Joel LaBissonniere of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
