Department of Commerce
NOAA Fisheries
-Southwest Regional Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2000

F. Alioto Co. Prosecuted for Violation of Lacey Act

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department and the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration ("NOAA") announced that F. Alioto Co., a seafood wholesaler and retailer located at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, pled guilty in San Francisco yesterday to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act, the federal statute prohibiting the transportation, sale or export in foreign commerce of fish or wildlife taken or possessed in violation of state law. Sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2000 before federal Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero.

F. Alioto Co. admitted that from September 1995 through the May 1996, it received at its dock fish subject to federal trip limits - monthly per vessel limits - namely channel rockfish (also known as "thornyheads"), sablefish (also known as black cod) and Dover sole from. three fishing vessels and failed to fully and accurately report to the California Department of Fish and Game ("Fish and Game") the catch on fish landing receipts required to be filed LLpOn its receipt of th~ fish. The purpose of under-reporting the fish was to conceal the fact that the vessel trip limits had been exceeded. The unreported thornyheads and black cod were sold to fish dealers in Japan - where virtually all such U.S.-landed fish are exported -- and are prized by Japanese consumers.

F. Alioto Co. admitted that on one occasion in Ocwber 1995, its former general manager submitted a fish landing receipt reporting that the F/V Anna Marie, a vessel associated with F. Alioto that was in dry dock at the time, had caught over 15,000 pounds of fish, masking the fact that the F/V Oregon Beaver, a second vessel associated with F. Alioto already over its monthly limit, had caught the fish. F. Alioto Co. further admitted to five other specific instances of under-reporting or failing to report these species of fish, and that business records show during 1995 and 1996 that it had failed to report to Fish & Game over 100,000 pounds of thornyheads, with a value of more than $120,000.

Thornyheads and black cod are among the most valuable fish found off the United States' Pacific coast. Due to concerns about fishing pressure on their diminishing populations, these species are subject to yearly catch quotas administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service in conjunction with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which is comprised of federal, state, and fishing industry representatives.

Commenting on the significance of this prosecution, Rod Mclnnis, Assistant Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service SW Region in Long Beach, California stated: "Overall, west coast groundfish stocks are not in good shape. Adhering to various restrictions is a must if we expect to have sustainable fish populations for the future. And the accurate reporting of catch is an essential part of their recovery. Consequently, falsification of catch records is serious and brings legal consequences. When catch limits are violated, the stocks not only suffer, but other law-abiding fishermen as well who sacrifice for the future. Fish are a depletable and significant resource to the economy and must be protected." Business organizations convicted under this provision of the Lacey Act, or conspiring to violate this provision, are punishable by a statutory maximum sentence of up to a $200,000 fine. However, the actual sentence will be imposed in the discretion of the Court.

In connection with the prosecution, on June 23, 2000 Serge Joseph Cincotta a/k/a "Joe" Cincota, 40 of San Raphael, California, the former general manager of F. Alioto Fish Company (F. Alioto), and Francesco Licata a/k/a "Frank" Licata, 53 of Antioch, California, the former captain of the F/V Ms. Juliet, pled guilty in San Francisco to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act. They are also scheduled to be sentenced on September 29. According to the plea agreement, Mr. Cincotta left the company in August 1998.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation led by the agents of the National Marine Fisheries Service with the assistance of Fish and Game. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen C. Bessette and Senior Trial Counsel Peter J. Murtha of the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division prosecuted the case.

NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to protecting and preserving out nation's living marine resources, and the habitat on which they depend, including the sustainable use of fishery resources through scientific research, management and enforcement.

NOAA is also dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.