Press Release
INTERNATIONAL TUNA SMUGGLING OPERATION RESULTS IN SENTENCING
June 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, H. Jeff Radonski, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Law Enforcement, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami Office, announced that defendant George A. Townsend, III, 64, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was sentenced today in federal court in Miami in connection with his involvement in the illegal importation of more than 11,000 pounds of yellowfin tuna from Trinidad and Tobago, in violation of the laws, treaties, and regulations of the United States, contrary to the Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(A).
The Honorable Joan A. Lenard, United States District Court Judge, who had previously accepted Townsend’s guilty plea in the matter, sentenced him to two years of probation and a criminal fine of $3,000. Judge Lenard also ordered that Townsend forfeit $23,140.04 in funds derived from the criminal conduct to the United States. Townsend was also placed under a special condition that his finances, employment information, and all travel be fully disclosed to the Court’s Probation Office over the term of his supervision.
According to the Information filed in the case, pleadings, and statements in Court, Townsend, a citizen of the United States, owned and operated a Canadian registered fishing vessel, the UNDA, through a Bahamian registered company, “SUNDANCE BRAZIL, LTD.,” and a business he incorporated in Canada, “3093731 NOVA SCOTIA LIMITED.” The F/V UNDA was a commercial longline fishing vessel.
In order to meet its treaty obligations related to international fisheries conservation, regulate the activities of its registered fishing vessels, and insure compliance with its conservation and safety regulations, the Government of Canada prohibits any person on board a Canadian vessel such as the UNDA from fishing or trans-shipping fish in waters other than Canadian fisheries waters, unless the vessel holds a license issued by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. The F/V UNDA did not hold the required license, necessary to legally fish or trans-ship fish on the high seas or through Trinidad and Tobago. On June 7, 2005, Townsend caused approximately 11,063 pounds of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) to be shipped in foreign commerce from Trinidad and Tobago to a dealer in Miami, Florida, contrary to Sections 65.(1) and 68 of Canada’s Fishery (General) Regulations. Through a joint venture in a Brazilian company in which he held 99% ownership, Townsend at one time secured a Brazilian permit to fish for yellowfin. However, that permit required the fish to be landed in a Brazilian port in order to allow oversight of the fishing activities, and had been cancelled by Brazilian authorities by the time relevant to this case.
Yellowfin tuna is a valuable seafood product. The species has been heavily impacted by Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fisheries efforts. Atlantic yellowfin is regulated through the efforts of many maritime nations, through the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a multi-lateral treaty to which the United States, Canada, and Brazil are parties. ICCAT is responsible for the science-based conservation of some 30 types of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. The Convention, formally entered into force in 1969 and now has 45 contracting parties.
The ICCAT group conducts a wide range of research into the biometry, ecology, and oceanography of the focus species, with a special emphasis on the effects of fishing on stock abundance. The Commission’s efforts also include data compilation work relative to current trends and conditions of the fishery resources in the Convention area. Additionally, ICCAT undertakes collateral research on fish species caught during directed efforts for tuna in the Convention area, known as “by-catch” (principally sharks) which are not investigated by any other international fishery organization. The United States currently chairs ICCAT.
Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, Special Agents of Immigration & Customs Enforcement Miami and Officers of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans which brought the investigation to a successful conclusion. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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