A seafood business in Coden, Alabama, U.S.A., is facing potential prison time after buying and selling illegally harvested fish.
Richard Michael Collier, Jr., owner of P.J.’s Seafood in Coden, Alabama, pled guilty to illegally selling fish across state lines. According to Fox 10, Collier said the market value of the fish was between USD 250,000 (EUR 231,000) and USD 550,000 (EUR 508,000).
Collier admitted he was guilty of conspiring to violate the Lacey Act – the federal law governing the trade of fish, wildlife, and plants – in U.S. District Court in Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A., on 16 October. According to the plea agreement, P.J.’s Seafood illegally purchased speckled trout and redfish and then sold it to interstate distributors in Thomasville, Georgia, U.S.A.; Pensacola, Florida, U.S.A.; and Theodore, Georgia, U.S.A., from May 2019 through April 2022.
Collier said in the plea that he falsified trip ticket information, including the quantity and location of the fish that were caught. Agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Alabama Marine Police found thousands of pounds of speckled trout and redfish hidden in compartments in boats, which were then sold to Collier, according to the plea agreement.
Additionally, some of the boats had gill nets, which are banned for harvesting game fish in Alabama.
A judge set Collier’s sentencing for February 2025, with the crime carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Collier agreed to surrender his Alabama gill netting license and refrain from operating a business involved in the sale of seafood – except for oysters.
