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The illegal harvest accounted for nearly 20% of the total allowable harvest of marine creatures nationwide, said American lawyer Annette Hayes, and severely damaged Puget Sound.
The owner of a Washington seafood company was sentenced to two years in prison for over-harvesting sea cucumbers and must pay $ 1.5 million in restitution – the second major trafficking in the illegal sea cucumber trade in the western United States in just over a year.
Hoon Namkoong, 62, was also sentenced Friday to three years of supervision after the prison.
He pleaded guilty earlier this year to the US District Court in Seattle to underreport the number of sea cucumbers that he had purchased in the tribal and non-tribal fisheries of Puget Sound between 2014 and 2016. His business Orient Seafood Production then sold them to seafood buyers in Asia and the United States
The illegal harvest accounted for nearly 20% of the total allowable harvest of marine creatures nationwide, said American lawyer Annette Hayes, and severely damaged Puget Sound.
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"This illegal activity harms the health of the Puget Sound ecosystem by endangering the sustainability of the sea cucumber population," said Mr. Hayes. "Illegal harvesting undermines quotas designed to protect the resource and preserve sound health for our children and future generations."
Sea cucumbers, which have the shape of cucumbers with small feet and measure up to 6 feet, are echinoderms, a family that includes starfish and sea urchins.
They are served dry or fresh and often braised with fish, vegetables and traditional Chinese sauces. They are sought after to treat various health problems and are increasingly in demand in China and in Southeast Asian countries.
Harvesting of sea cucumbers is permitted in the United States and in many parts of the world, but in limited quantities and only during the high season. Illegal trade is becoming more and more common and lucrative.
Last year, federal officials filed a lawsuit against a father-son partnership for allegedly bringing sea cucumbers worth more than $ 17 million into the United States and exporting them to Asia. .
The two men were accused of buying illegally harvested animals from poachers on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and then sending them overseas after bringing them across the border to San Diego. .
According to court records, in the recent Washington case, Mr. Namkoong purchased Puget Sound sea cucumbers from tribal and non-tribal fishermen for three seasons.
Sea cucumber harvests are regulated by the state of Washington and tribal authorities and are tracked using fishing tickets signed by both the fisherman and the buyer.
As part of his plea, Mr Namkoong claimed to have falsified three season fishing tickets and frequently paid fishermen in cash, so that there would be no financial record of the total amount of sea cucumbers outlet.
These actions violate the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits the illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish and plants.
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