N.C. Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Bass Fishing
A North Carolina fisherman pleaded guilty Monday to the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic striped bass in federal waters in 2010. The Justice Department said the charges against Dewey Willis Jr. of Newport, N.C., stemmed from an multi-defendant investigation involving 13 other commercial fishermen. As described in a written notice of Willis’s pleas, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received a tip regarding the fishermen’s alleged illegal activities involving striped bass, and directed the U.S. Coast Guard to board the fishing vessel Lady Samaira in February 2010. Willis and the other fishermen onboard were charged with violating the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits individuals from transporting, selling or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally. Now that he was entered a guilty plea, Willis faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Read the rest here 17:15
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