Poaching BUSTS!

[Frankiesurf]

THinking about it, he is a civil servant. Generally there is no action unless he is convicted.

The funny thing is that he probably makes upwards of $100 grand a year and just tossed that away because he wanted to prove a point. Now he is really going to cry when he loses his job and must rely on fishing, that is if they don't take his permits.

[seamonkey]

I hope they get some huge fines!



Two Charged in Calvert with Illegal Possession of Rockfish
Calvert County – On March 2, 2010, the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged Tony Allen Reynolds, age 38, and Benson Albert Jones Sr., age 61, with possession of striped bass during closed season.
NRP Officers observed Reynolds' boat "Sea Biscuit" docked in Fishing Creek in the town of Chesapeake Beach, where Reynolds resides. Officers observed Reynolds unloading crates of fish into a truck driven by Jones.
Officers inspected the fish and found 204 striped bass ranging in size from 12” to 17”.
It is illegal to possess striped bass after the closing of the striped bass gill net season, which closed on February 26.
A court date has been set for May 10, 2010 in Calvert County.

[DarkSkies]

Some more that people sent in:

2008, lobster captain pays $68k in fines
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/news/news_NED_041008.htm



2009 NJMFC
Jan 2009 minutes
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2...mfc01-8-09.pdf
March 2009 minutes
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2...mfc03-5-09.pdf

[basshunter]

Here is a disturbing article.



The Oceans' Pirate Fishermen


Reuters – A fisherman carries a yellowfin tuna out of his boat at the fishing port of Donggang, Pingtung county, …



By BRYAN WALSH Bryan Walsh – 2 hrs 59 mins ago
The oceans are being emptied of fish. A forthcoming United Nations report lays out the stark numbers: only around 25% of commercial stocks are in a healthy or even reasonably healthy state. Some 30% of [COLOR=#366388! important][COLOR=#366388! important]fish [COLOR=#366388! important]stocks[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] are considered collapsed, and 90% of large predatory fish - like the bluefin tuna so prized by sushi aficionados - have disappeared since the middle of the 20th century. More than 60% of assessed fish stocks are in need of rebuilding, and some researchers estimate that if current trends hold, virtually all [COLOR=#366388! important][COLOR=#366388! important]commercial [COLOR=#366388! important]fisheries[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] will have collapsed by mid century.

"Fisheries across the world are being plundered, or exploited at unsustainable rates," said Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme. (Read: Will Killing Whales Save the World's Fisheries?)

In some respects, Steiner could have stopped at "plundered," because as much damage as the legal, commercial fishing trade has wrought on the oceans, it's the illegal trade that could spell their doom. Legal fishermen - the everyday farmers of the seas - have licenses they must protect and laws they must obey. But illegal fishing - often done on the high seas where regulations are lax and [COLOR=#366388! important][COLOR=#366388! important]catch [COLOR=#366388! important]limits[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] can be exceeded with impunity, or in the coastal waters of developing nations, which lack the ability to fight back - abides by rules of its own. Now, a team led by Stefan Flothmann of the Pew Environment Group has published a study in the May 20 issue of Science showing just how hard stopping the illegal fishing scourge will be.

There are a lot of factors driving the rising global demand for fish. A growing global population needs ready sources of protein, and fish - generally low in fat and high in nutrients - is a natural. Plus, the worldwide explosion in the popularity of sushi means that even people who never liked fish before have developed a taste for it. Global seafood consumption has doubled over the past 40 years, and the sushi boom has tracked that trend. (See pictures of the tail of the tuna.)

But there's also a major problem with overcapacity - or the simple excess of fishermen - thanks to the $27 billion in subsidies given to the worldwide fishing industry each year. Those subsidies - especially the billions that go to cheap diesel fuel that makes factory fishing on the high seas possible at all--have created an industry bigger than the oceans can support. The U.N. estimates that the global fleet consists of more than 20 million boats, ranging from tiny subsistence outfits to massive trawlers. Together they have a fishing capacity 1.8 to 2.8 times larger than the oceans can sustainably support. Our tax money is essentially paying fishermen to strip mine the seas.

Cutting the subsidies or restricting the boats would go a long way toward solving the problem - but not if the illegal trade, which accounts for anything from 11 to 26 million tons of fish a year, or about one-fifth of the reported legal catch, can't also be brought under control. Steps in that direction have been taken. In November 2009, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) adopted the Port State Measurement Agreement (PSMA), which requires countries to close their ports to ships involved in illegal or unregulated fishing. The idea is simple: if illegal boats are denied ports where they can sell their catch and refuel, black market fishing should dry up. (Read: Caught in an Oil Storm [EM] The Plight of Gulf Fishermen.)

The effectiveness of the PSMA is what Flothman and his colleagues investigated in their paper, crunching data on port visits by boats between 2004 and 2009 that had been listed as possibly involved in illegal fishing and that had been targeted for sanctions. What they found did not impress them. The ports' records were in woeful shape, tracking the movement of only one-third of those boats during the six-year research period. The vessels frequently changed their names to elude regulators, and even if they were caught, port states enacted sanctions only about one out of every four times. On those occasions that ports in one region did crack down in any systematic way, the boats just moved to another region - a phenomenon known as leakage. "This illustrates that if port measures remain regional, the problem will shift elsewhere," the Science authors write.

Flothmann and his colleagues argue that much greater transparency is needed if illegal fishing is going to be stopped, and that may begin with getting even greater control over the legal fleet. Right now, for example, [COLOR=#366388! important][COLOR=#366388! important]fishing [COLOR=#366388! important]boats[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] aren't required to have an identification code from the International Maritime Organization, the only globally recognized identifier for shipping. Establishing the requirement would help distinguish the good guys from the bad guys, particularly if the information is shared among all ports. "Accountability," Flothmann writes, "requires transparency." (Read a brief history of invasive species.)

He's right - but his work also shows why even in the best of situations, saving [COLOR=#366388! important][COLOR=#366388! important]wild [COLOR=#366388! important]fish[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] will be so challenging. The oceans present the ultimate problem of the commons - they're vast, and most of the marine world lies beyond the control of any one country. Yet we're all dependent on the productivity of the oceans. "The connection between our health and the health of the oceans is clear," says Julie Packard, the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "We have to commit to saving them." And the commitment to save the oceans begins with a recognition that we all share them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599199117200

[seamonkey]

Well it seems they are no longer prosecuting these cases in local courts, it's about time some stiff penalties were handed down!!

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/J...-enrd-769.html

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 1, 2010



Jury Convicts District of Columbia Fish Wholesaler & Two Employees for Purchasing Illegally Harvested Striped Bass


WASHINGTON—Following a five-week trial, a fish wholesaler and two of its employees were found guilty with purchasing illegally harvested striped bass, known locally as rockfish, from the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland from 1995 through 2007, the Justice Department announced today.

Ocean Pro Ltd. d/b/a Profish, one of the largest District of Columbia seafood wholesalers, its vice-president Timothy Lydon of Bethesda, Md., and its fish buyer, Benjamin Clough of Graysonville, Md., were all convicted of a felony conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. Ocean Pro and Lydon were also convicted of three felony Lacey Act violations, and Clough was convicted of three Lacey Act violations and a felony false statement charge. The Lacey Act is a federal law that prohibits individuals or corporations from transporting, selling or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally.

Profish and Lydon began buying striped bass from Virginia fishermen fishing on the Potomac River in 1995. Lydon and Profish agreed to buy striped bass that they knew was illegally harvested by seven fishermen between 1995 and 2007. Clough joined Profish in 2001, and he continued to knowingly purchase the illegally harvested striped bass through 2007. In total, the defendants purchased over 270,000 pounds of striped bass illegally harvested from Maryland and Virginia waters, with a fair market retail value over $1.6 million.

Evidence was also introduced at trial that they altered records regarding their striped bass purchases, and changed records indicating the harvest date on shellfish to make it appear that they were harvested more recently than they were.

Commercial striped bass fishermen are given a quota that they are allowed to catch each year. The fishermen are issued a set number of plastic tags that they are required to affix to every striped bass harvested. In addition, during certain times of the spring, commercial striped bass fishing is prohibited, or, if allowed, a maximum striped bass size limit is imposed that prohibits the harvest of striped bass over that size.

The quota restrictions and tagging requirements are designed to prevent the over-harvest of striped bass, and the seasonal closing and size restrictions are designed to protect striped bass while they are spawning and to protect the larger, sexually mature and more productive spawning fish.

These restrictions were implemented in the early 1990s following the crash of the striped bass fishery in the 1980s, which resulted in a moratorium on commercial striped bass harvest from 1985 to 1990.

Profish, Lydon, and Clough were willing to buy commercially caught striped bass, which were over the applicable size limit during the spawning season and did not have the required tags affixed. This allowed commercial fishermen to catch and sell more striped bass than they were allowed, and to catch and sell protected spawning striped bass from 1995 through 2007.

In early spring each year, striped bass (Morone saxatilis), known regionally as rockfish, enter the estuary or river where they were born to spawn, and then return to ocean waters to live, migrating along the coastline. Fish spawned from the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem contribute the greatest number of striped bass to the Atlantic coastal fishery, and the commercial fishery for Atlantic coastal striped bass is based primarily on migrations of fish born in the Chesapeake Bay area. Striped bass do not die after spawning. They may live up to 30 years and reach 50 pounds or more. The population of coastal Atlantic striped bass depends heavily upon the capability of older, larger, female striped bass to successfully reproduce.

The charges are a result of the investigation by an interstate task force formed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Virginia Marine Police, Special Investigative Unit in 2003. The task force conducted undercover purchases and sales of striped bass in 2003, engaged in covert observation of commercial fishing operations in the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River area, and conducted detailed analysis of area striped bass catch reporting and commercial business sales records from 2003 through 2007.

To date, including these convictions, the task force has resulted in felony 22 felony convictions: fourteen fishermen from Maryland and Virginia, five individuals who operated seafood wholesale companies, and three seafood wholesale companies in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Colombia.

These cases were prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

[lostatsea]

Good too hear it.

[albiealert]

Now that the prosecution has some teeth, these guys may think twice next time.

[DarkSkies]

Now that the prosecution has some teeth, these guys may think twice next time.

Good point Albie.

Finchaser talks about this all the time in the poaching posts. He correctly points out that there aren't many teeth in the system to really address the poaching problem. For years he has been saying that until they address this, poaching prosecutions are weak and ineffective.

People are happy to hear guys got busted. When it comes down to the court date, they plea out to a lesser charge and a minimal fine. Kind of like robbing a bank, and pleading out to spitting on the sidewalk as you left the bank, with other charges being dropped.

This is a significant change in policy. At least some folks are serious about seeing justice done. What's more significant is the press release, straight from the DOJ.

Now if the DOJ only started going after EEZ striped bass violations like they went after these guys, we would know they are truly serious about applying the law equally.

But hey, this is a start, so I'm happy to hear it.

[blitzhunter]

To date, including these convictions, the task force has resulted in felony 22 felony convictions: fourteen fishermen from Maryland and Virginia, five individuals who operated seafood wholesale companies, and three seafood wholesale companies in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Colombia.

These cases were prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Ge get em boys!

[surferman]

I get so mad when I read this. The gov't should sink their boats or take them away!



ANNAPOLIS (November 27, 2010) – On November 24, the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged Jerome William Janda, Jr., 55, from Tilghman, Md. with multiply striped bass (rockfish) violations after an investigation relating to illegal fishing activities in the Tilghman area.

On November 10 at approximately 2:35 a.m., NRP officers observed Janda Jr. and his fishing vessel exit Knapp’s Narrows without using his navigational lights and proceed to a pound net located on the south side of Poplar Island, Talbot County. The officers observed the occupants of the vessel fish the pound net and then docked at Lowes Wharf.

At approximately 4:00 a.m., the officers confronted Janda Jr. and the two other occupants on the vessel, Jerome William Janda, 3rd, 28, from Tilghman, and Burton Robert Curtis, 25, of an unknown address. The officers found the individuals loading untagged striped bass onto a truck. The Officers seized the 2,731 pounds of untagged rockfish.

Initially, the officers thought Janda Jr. was 1,784 pounds over his seasonal allocation limit according to the information noted on his allocation card. Subsequent investigation into the seafood dealer’s records indicated that Janda Jr. was illegally checking striped bass caught from a pound net as fish caught by a commercial hook and line fisherman. This record information indicated that Janda Jr. exceeded his quota by 7,568 pounds (2,273 fish). Janda Jr. would have obtained his limit on October 6 had the catch been check-in properly.

Commercial fisherman are allowed to catch striped bass by using three gear types; hook and line, drift gill nets, and pound nets. Each gear type has specific poundage of fish that can be caught by each gear during specific periods of the year. A striped bass pound net and striped bass drift gill net license can not be held by the same licensee at the same time. All commercially taken striped bass must be tagged and checked into a designated check-in station. Janda Jr. had a pound net license that had 3,760 pound quota. The 2010 pound net and hook and line season runs from June 1 to November 30. The last segment of drift gill net season starts on December 1 until December 31.

Janda Jr. was charged with 21 counts of using striped bass allocation permits assigned to another, 19 counts of using striped bass tags assigned to another, 14 counts of exceeding seasonal allocation limit of striped bass, one count of possessing striped bass greater than 36” commercial size, one count of possession of undersize flounder, one count of possession of untagged striped bass, and one count of operating a vessel at night without proper navigational lights.

Jerome Janda, 3rd was charged with one count of aiding and abetting exceeding seasonal allocation limit of striped bass and one count of possession of untagged striped bass.

A court date has been set for February 17, 2011 in the District Court of Maryland in Talbot County. The maximum penalty for each count is $1000 plus $1500 per each striped bass. The investigation is on-going and additional charges may follow.

Source: Maryland Natural Resources Police
Return to Headline News

[hookedonbass]

This is the first time I remember them handing out actual prison time. Glad to see it!




http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/wor...id=39496&ndb=1

Illegal rockfish scheme investigation results in USD 1 million fines
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
Ocean Pro Ltd (Profish) plus its vice-president and its fish buyer were sentenced recently in US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, for illegally harvesting striped bass for over a decade from the Potomac River. This has been called the largest ever commercial fish poaching plot in the Chesapeake Bay.

Timothy Lydon, a part owner and officer in Profish, one of Washington's primary seafood wholesalers, last week was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined USD 60,000. Benjamin Clough, a fish-buyer for the company, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined USD 7,500.

Profish was sentenced to three years probation, fined USD 575,000, restitution in the amount of USD 300,000 and a special assessment of USD 5,000. Gordon Jett, a fisher who supplied the striped bass or rockfish, was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home of detention and fined USD 4,572 in restitution.

All the defendants’ fines will go to the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and restitution will go to the Commonwealth of Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
"When fishermen and fish wholesalers do not comply with the law, they imperil the entire fishery and adversely impact livelihoods of those in the fishing industry who abide by the law, and reap an impermissible economic advantage through their non-compliance," said Ignacia S Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a national treasure, and the striped bass fishery is an important resource that we must protect from plunder for our enjoyment and that of future generations."
Following a five-week jury trial, Lydon, Clough and Profish last July were judged guilty of purchasing illegally caught striped bass from the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland from 1995-2007. All were convicted of conspiracy and violations of the Lacey Act, which prohibits the transport, sale or purchase of illegally harvested fish and wildlife.
In total, the defendants were sentenced to more than 140 months in prison, and total fines and restitution exceed USD 1,361,000.
A unit of federal and state lawyers as well as undercover officers investigated the black market operation for five years. It ended in 19 men and three corporations being convicted.
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

[DarkSkies]

This is the first time I remember them handing out actual prison time. Glad to see it!




http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/wor...id=39496&ndb=1

Illegal rockfish scheme investigation results in USD 1 million fines
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
Ocean Pro Ltd (Profish) plus its vice-president and its fish buyer were sentenced recently in US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, for illegally harvesting striped bass for over a decade from the Potomac River. This has been called the largest ever commercial fish poaching plot in the Chesapeake Bay.

Timothy Lydon, a part owner and officer in Profish, one of Washington's primary seafood wholesalers, last week was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined USD 60,000. Benjamin Clough, a fish-buyer for the company, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined USD 7,500.

Profish was sentenced to three years probation, fined USD 575,000, restitution in the amount of USD 300,000 and a special assessment of USD 5,000. Gordon Jett, a fisher who supplied the striped bass or rockfish, was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home of detention and fined USD 4,572 in restitution.

I believe there's no parole in the federal system, so I think these people will have to do the time given.

For the decade of poaching they did, the sentencing is small. However, the fact that they were sentenced at all is significant. The gov't is trying to send messages to commercial poachers out there. I hope this one came through loud and clear. Thanks for posting this, guys.

[nitestrikes]

1995-2007, that's 12 years of poaching. Lots of illegal fish. Glad they threw the book at them.

[seamonkey]

It's about time!

[surferman]

Found this on another site.


Written by Kye Parsons
Dover Man Arrested for Commercial Fishing Violations

Posted: Apr 13, 2011 2:33 PM EDT
DOVER, Del.– Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement agents have arrested a commercial fisherman on charges related to illegally taken striped bass.

Paul A. Satterfield, 36, of Dover, was arrested and charged on April 7 with 53 counts of attempting to sell striped bass prior to having the fish lawfully weighed and tagged by an authorized weigh station.

Satterfield was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court No. 7 in Dover and released on $26,000 unsecured bond, pending a May 25 preliminary hearing in the Court of Common Pleas.

Police say the illegally taken fish were documented as evidence and then sold by agents to a licensed commercial fish dealer for fair market value of $2,400. The funds were secured in evidence pending adjudication of the case.

[seamonkey]

oyster poachers



Port Norris, Heislerville fishermen indicted for illegal oyster harvesting

Published: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 4:23 PM


COMMERCIAL TWP. — A 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Camden released today reveals the arrest of four residents from Cumberland County and two from Maryland, as well as the seizure or restraint of 10 oyster fishing boats.

The indictment charges the six individuals and their two related companies with creating false reports and records of harvested oysters, trafficking in illegally harvested oysters, obstruction of justice, and charges five of the individuals and the two companies with conspiracy to commit those crimes.

The individuals charged were Thomas Reeves, Todd Reeves and Renee Reeves, of Port Norris; Kenneth W. Bailey, of Maurice River Township; Mark Bryan of New Market, Md.; and Pamela Meloney of Secretary, Md.

The charged businesses are Reeves Brothers, out of Port Norris, which is owned and operated by Thomas and Todd Reeves, and Harbor House Seafood, in Seaford, Del., which is co-owned by Mark Bryan.

According to the indictment, from 2004 through 2007, Thomas and Todd Reeves were oyster fishermen who owned the oyster dealer business Reeves Brothers where Renee Reeves worked.

The Reeves would create reports and records required by state and federal law that claimed they harvested fewer oysters than they actually did, and they would take more oysters from the Delaware Bay than they were allowed under New Jersey law, officials said.

The fair market retail value of the Reeves‚ illegal harvest during this time was well in excess of $600,000, and they over-harvested their quota in some years by as much as 90 percent.

Also alleged in the indictment, to help hide their illegal harvest, the Reeves, along with Mark Bryan and Pamela Meloney at Harbor House, would create and maintain records that falsely indicated the amount of oysters the Reeves actually sold to Harbor House.

To help prevent the discovery of their actions, Bryan and Meloney provided to law enforcement officers investigating the matter records of Harbor House's purchases from the Reeves that Bryan and Meloney knew were false, according to the state.

The indictment alleges that Bryan and Meloney created false records of Harbor House's purchases from another Port Norris area oyster fisherman, Kenneth W. Bailey.

Like the Reeves, Bailey is accused of creating in 2006 and 2007 reports and records required by state and federal law that claimed he harvested fewer oysters than he actually did, and he would take more oysters from the Delaware Bay than allowed under New Jersey law.

The maximum penalty for five of the obstruction of justice counts is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, for the individuals.

The maximum penalty for each of the remaining violations by the individuals includes five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the corporations is five years of probation and a fine in an amount that is the greater of $500,000, or twice the gross gain, for each count.


http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.s...lle_fishe.html

[stripercrazy]

I want to see the poachers get nailed, but 2004-2007? That was 4 years ago and more. It appears that someone's ex wife or business partner may have gotten mad at them and dropped a dime.

[basshunter]

The problem here is that they don't get 20 years in prison. They a fine with a slap on the wrist, then back to poaching they go.

[bluesdude71]

This is the first time I remember them handing out actual prison time. Glad to see it!




http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/wor...id=39496&ndb=1

Illegal rockfish scheme investigation results in USD 1 million fines
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
Ocean Pro Ltd (Profish) plus its vice-president and its fish buyer were sentenced recently in US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, for illegally harvesting striped bass for over a decade from the Potomac River. This has been called the largest ever commercial fish poaching plot in the Chesapeake Bay.

Timothy Lydon, a part owner and officer in Profish, one of Washington's primary seafood wholesalers, last week was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined USD 60,000. Benjamin Clough, a fish-buyer for the company, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined USD 7,500.

Follow up on Profish. They appealed. The conviction stood
:


NEWS March 28, 2012

Three judges for the 4th district appeals court, covering Maryland and Virginia and DC, upheld the conviction of Ocean Pro Industries for an illegal sale of striped bass. Judge Neimeyer, writing for the unanimous three judge opinion, said that Maryland and Virginia had sufficient interest in striped bass so as to be able to impose restitution payments on the company.

The summary of the opinion from Judge Niemeyer:

Oceanpro Industries, Ltd., doing business as "Profish, Ltd." ("Oceanpro"), a seafood wholesaler in the District of Columbia, and two Oceanpro employees, Timothy Lydon (officer and fish buyer) and Benjamin Clough, III (fish buyer), were convicted for purchasing untagged and oversized striped bass, in violation of the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2)(A) (prohibiting the purchase in interstate commerce of fish or wild-life sold in violation of state law).

Oceanpro and Clough were also convicted for giving a false statement to federal law enforcement officers during the course of the investigation of the crimes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. In addition to imposing fines and prison sentences, the district court ordered the three defendants, jointly and severally, to pay Maryland and Virginia $300,000 in restitution, to be divided equally between the States.

On appeal, Oceanpro and Clough challenge the District of Maryland's venue for the false statement offense because the false statement was made at the offices of Oceanpro in the District of Columbia, not in Maryland. In addition, all of the defendants contend that the order of restitution to the States was improper because the States did not have a sufficient interest in the illegally caught fish so as to make them "victims," as is required for receiving the benefit of a restitution order.

We reject both arguments, concluding that venue for the false statement charge was proper in the District of Maryland and that Maryland and Virginia's interest in striped bass was sufficient to make the States "victims" and therefore to justify an award to them of restitution. Accordingly, we affirm.

[hookedonbass]

Glad to hear that justice prevailed.