Department of Justice
Assistant U.S. Attorney's Office
- Northern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2002

Fish dealer receives criminal sentence for failing to report shipments

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that yesterday Nghia Trung Truong, 45, of Oakland, pled guilty and was sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $9,912.77 in restitution for failing to file Fish Landing Receipts (FLRs), for fish he received in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(1). The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong in Oakland.

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, this case is the largest of its kind in California history. In pleading guilty, Mr. Truong admitted that in 1997 he received fish on 692 occasions which he failed to report to the California Department of Fish & Game. Mr. Truong acknowledged that in 1997 alone he failed to report the receipt of 85,975 pounds of thornyhead rockfish worth approximately $98,000 and 152,313 pounds of sablefish worth approximately $215,000. Mr. Truong further admitted that he failed to file the required Fish Landing Receipts, documenting the receipt of these federally regulated fish, in order to avoid paying over $9,000 of state taxes on the fish for the years 1994-1999.

According to the criminal Information filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Truong received the majority of the thornyhead rockfish (also known as channel rockfish or hard-heads) and sablefish (also known as black cod or butterfish) at the Bayfresh Seafoods, Inc.'s dock located in Moss Landing Harbor, California. The thornyheads were sold ultimately to fish dealers in Japan -- where virtually all such U.S.-landed fish are exported.

Thornyhead rockfish and sablefish are regulated by the state and federal government and landings of these fish must be recorded in a Fish Landing Receipt to the California Department of Fish and Game. Thornyhead rockfish and sablefish are valuable fish found in the Pacific Ocean, which are subject to catch quotas administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service in conjunction with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

"The quotas are set to ensure that we can maintain a sustainable, healthy fish population for years to come. Undocumented, illegal fishing destroys the integrity of our fishery management system," said Dr. Donald McIsaac, Executive Director of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. "Our scientists rely on the accuracy of landing data in assessing the status of our fish stocks and in setting the appropriate catch limits. If this data is wrong, both the fish stock and the fishing industry suffer."

"This conviction demonstrates our commitment to protect the precious fish populations off the shores of Northern California," said U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the agents of the National Marine Fisheries Service, including Special Agent Roy Torres who was commended for his work on the case by U. S. Attorney Ryan. Maureen C. Bessette, the Assistant U.S. Attorney, and former Senior Trial Counsel Peter J. Murtha of the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division prosecuted the case.

The website for the United States Attorney's Office is www.usdoj.gov/usao/ndca.