Tri-Marine pleaded guilty of falsifying sardine landing receipts. (Photo: wdfw.wa.gov/Stock File)
Fish company admits falsifying landing records
(UNITED STATES, 5/11/2010)
Raw fish product processor Tri-Marine Fish Company agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to federal wildlife trafficking charges for deliberately falsifying landing receipts for Pacific sardines in 2008 and 2009.
San Pedro, California-based Tri-Marine agreed to enter guilty pleas to both misdemeanor violations and accept specific conditions of future compliance in its record keeping. US Magistrate Judge Stephen J Hillman immediately sentenced the company to three years of probation and a USD 150,000 criminal fine, which includes approximately USD 40,000 in restitution that will go to fishing vessel operators and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG).
Tri-Marine has already paid the fine.
The plea agreement followed an audit of the company’s records by investigators from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the CDFG.
"The record keeping problems we encountered have been corrected and our internal control procedures have been revised accordingly," said General Manager of the Tri-Marine Fish Company facility in San Pedro Vince Torre. "Tri-Marine Fish Company has been an important part of the San Pedro fishing community for over 10 years and looks forward to providing its services to the community for years to come."
Tri-Marine admitted falsifying landing receipts for sardines landed by several local fishing vessels, including Pacific Bully, Pacific Leader, Paloma, Eileen and Ferrigno Boy. The firm under reported the weight of the harvested Pacific sardines by almost 650,000 lbs in September 2008 and the first two months of last year.
The firm noted that NOAA was attacked before Congress and the public after the January release of a report condemning NOAA's enforcement practices and priorities. The report issued by NOAA's Inspector General and criticised NOAA for its overuse of criminal sanctions for mistakes that were better considered civil or regulatory.
On 3 February, NOAA pledged to "[d]evelop a plan to review law enforcement staff and procedures with a focus on ensuring that criminal procedures are not applied to civil offenses."
Tri-Marine is a limited liability company that processes and sells mackerel, squid, sardines and other California fish species for export plus local and national distribution.
By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
Information of the company:
Address:
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220 Cannery Steet
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City:
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San Pedro
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State/ZIP:
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California (90731)
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Country:
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United States
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Phone:
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+1 310 547 1144
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Fax:
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+1 310 547 1166
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E-Mail:
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[email protected]
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More about:
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Approval / Accreditation / Certified / Oversight by...
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