Mole nabs crabs
CRAB CRACKDOWN!
Warning to crabbers: Bring a ruler. Or bring your lawyer.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that it had imposed a $50,000 fine on a Crisfield, Md., based seafood processing company for selling illegal undersized blue crabs.
Working on a confidential tip, undercover agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posed as seafood buyers from West Virginia. They bought soft crabs -- many about three inches long -- on three occasions in 2005 and 2006 from the MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company, according to a DOJ press release. Then they raided the company's warehouse and seized 3,274 undersized soft crabs, labelled "PEE WEES." The company pleaded guilty this week and agreed to pay the fine.
"Blue crabs are famous Chesapeake Bay residents, but sadly their numbers are alarmingly low due to a host of factors including over-catching," said Ronald J. Temps, acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department's natural resources division.
REMINDER TO READERS: THE SIZE LIMIT IN MARYLAND FOR SOFT CRABS IS 3 1/2 INCHES. For male hard crabs, it's 5 inches for most of the year. For mature female crabs, there is no size limit.
For a more detailed description of size limits, read the state regulations here. You can also look at pictures showing the difference between male and female crabs.
Read the jump, which follows, for the DOJ Press Release.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE
________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENRD
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 (202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
SEAFOOD COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO
SELLING ILLEGAL, UNDERSIZED CHESAPEAKE BAY CRABS
WASHINGTON—MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Baltimore and will pay a $50,000 fine for selling illegal, undersized Chesapeake Bay crabs in interstate commerce in violation of the Lacey Act, Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Sal Amato, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Special Agent in Charge, announced. The Lacey Act prohibits the interstate sale of fish or wildlife knowingly taken or possessed in violation of state law.
According to the joint factual statement provided to the Court, the investigation began when the government received information that crabbers from Tangier Island, Va. were selling soft shell blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay to seafood dealers in Crisfield, Md., including MeTompkin. Many of these crabs were found to be fewer than 3 and ½ inches in length in violation of Maryland state law. Posing as representatives from a business in West Virginia, Special Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an officer from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources purchased approximately $1,500 worth of undersized crabs on three occasions in 2005 and 2006 from MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company. A search warrant was later executed at the company warehouse and approximately 3,274 dozen undersized crabs labeled as “PEE WEES” were seized, valued at approximately $26,000.
“Blue Crabs are famous Chesapeake Bay residents, but sadly their numbers are alarmingly low due to a host of factors including over-catching,” said Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to enforcing the laws that are designed to protect this vital Bay inhabitant and taking the steps possible for promoting the species’ continued viability.”
“Harvesting undersized crabs prevents the crabs from reproducing and jeopardizes the survival of the species. We must work to preserve the Maryland Blue Crab, which is one of the Chesapeake Bay's best known natural resources,” said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
“Illegal crab harvest in the Chesapeake undermines decades' worth of efforts by federal and state agencies and environmental groups to restore and sustain crab populations in the Bay,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Sal Amato, who oversees U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement operations in the Northeast. “This case shows that the Service, Justice Department, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will work together to protect blue crabs and other resources that are environmentally and economically significant parts of our natural heritage.”
In addition to the penalty, the defendant agreed to forfeit the undersized crabs seized during the search warrant. Finally, as term of probation, the defendant agreed to allow increased access to its facility by U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents and inspectors from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police and to implement training programs with its employees and notice measures with its suppliers to prevent similar violations of the Lacey Act in the future.
The case was investigated by Special Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Officers from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Kehoe of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Romano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
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