Washington man jailed for over harvesting sea cucumbers

The owner of a Washington seafood company has been sentenced to two years in prison for over-exploiting sea cucumbers and must pay $ 1.5 million in restitution – the second jackpot of the illegal trade in fish. 39 Sea cucumbers in the 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.

"This illegal activity is harming the health of the Puget Sound ecosystem by jeopardizing the sustainability of the sea cucumber population," Hayes said. "The illegal harvest undermines the quotas to protect the resource and keep the Sound healthy 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 Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and then shipping them overseas after crossing the border in 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 both the Washington State authorities and tribal authorities and are followed by fishing tickets signed by 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.