DC fish wholesaler pleads guilty

Published 02/13/09

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fish wholesaler and his son have pleaded guilty in the largest investigation of illegal commercial fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River.

The Justice Department says Robert Moore Sr. and his son Robert Moore Jr. entered their pleas Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The elder Moore owns Cannon Seafood Inc. in Georgetown, where his son also works.

Under the plea agreement, Cannon Seafood agreed to pay an $80,000 fine and $28,000 in restitution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Moore Sr. and his son will pay fines totaling $70,000 and a combined $25,000 in restitution to the foundation.

Prosecutors say the Moores and at least three fishermen illegally harvested and sold hundreds of thousands of pounds of striped bass, which are highly protected. The men were charged last month with violating the Lacey Act, a federal law that bars the creation of false records for fish and wildlife or transporting illegally harvested wildlife.

Several other fishermen face similar charges.

YOUR COMMENTS

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

If you encounter other problems, please email ewiffin@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.

In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.

Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.

Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0 0

You're right Harry - 2009-02-13 23:53:17

Wow! With the recession and all I may go out and get myself a fishing pole! These guys absolutely CLEANED UP! What a crock!

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

bernadette a. - annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Well worth it! - 2009-02-13 18:08:47

600,000 lbs of rockfish... was taken, but lets say 300,000 lbs was sold to custumers @ $12 a pound that equals $3.6 million, and the fine is $208,000? Seems like a good deal for....Cannon seafood.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

harry trampolini - severna park, MD - Karma: Neutral