A Kodiak fisherman was sentenced last month to a year in jail for illegally shipping diseased Tanner crab from Alaska to Washington. The Alaska Beacon reports that Corey Potter will also spend two years on supervised release and will be barred from commercial fishing anywhere in the world during that time.
The sentence comes after a federal investigation found that Potter told his two boats’ captains to move crab harvested in Alaska to Seattle for higher sale prices, which is illegal.
Both captains also plead guilty last year to violating the Lacey Act, which bans importing possibly harmful wildlife, like the diseased Tanners.
Potter’s boats, Arctic Dawn and Gambler, had 4,280 pounds of live Tanner crab and 2,922 pounds of golden king crab on board.
Kyle Potter was issued a $20,000 fine and faces 5 years of probation and worldwide ban on commercial fishing. Justin Welch paid a $10,000 fine and was sentenced to 3 years of probation.
According to a press release last week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the captains knew some of their haul was “almost certainly infected” with Bitter Crab Syndrome, which is lethal to crabs, but not to humans. The parasitic disease can be identified by shells turning red or orange as well as blood and flesh having a “milky” look to it.
None of the crab made it to market, according to reporting from the Beacon. They were instead seized by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and sent to a landfill.
The Alaska Beacon reports the government is also seeking nearly $190,000 in restitution and a hearing on that is set for July.
