Post by: Skyvalhunter on March 28, 2018, 01:19:09 PM
Donnell Frank, 46, of Portland, Ore., pleaded guilty to three felony counts of unlawful fish trafficking and was sentenced March 19 by Judge Randall Krog.
WDFW Capt. Paul Golden, who heads the department's statewide investigative unit, said the case began in the spring of 2015, when officers received a tip that one of Frank's associates was illegally trafficking fish and wildlife.
WDFW Capt. Jeff Wickersham, who heads the department's southwest Washington enforcement office, said the investigation revealed that Frank illegally sold two wild Chinook salmon and five sturgeon, including one that was less than legal size.
Wickersham said Frank caught all of the fish during tribal subsistence fisheries, when commercial sales were prohibited. He said Frank made multiple sales of up to $500 per transaction during 2015 and 2016, primarily out of the back of his vehicle in Goldendale.
Columbia River fisheries are highly regulated to ensure conservation and resource sharing objectives are met, Wickersham said. Populations of harvestable-size sturgeon between Bonneville and McNary dams – the stretch of river where Frank caught the fish – have generally declined in recent years, and both hatchery and federally protected salmon and steelhead are present in that area.
"Salmon and sturgeon have significant economic and cultural importance to people and communities throughout the state," Wickersham said. "Black-market activities like these tend to increase poaching and undermine efforts to recover endangered stocks."
-WDFW-
Post by: Humptulips on March 28, 2018, 01:31:03 PM
Post by: vandeman17 on March 28, 2018, 01:54:07 PM
According to the article "multiple sales of up to $500 per transaction " and he gets a fine of $1050. Does anybody think he won't just call that a cost of doing business?
My thoughts too. Three felonies and a grand out of pocket. It says 4 months in jail but I bet he barely sees more than a few weeks in there and is back in business in no time
Post by: trophyhunt on March 28, 2018, 03:30:06 PM
Post by: Humptulips on March 28, 2018, 05:40:10 PM
Post by: Stein on March 28, 2018, 05:46:10 PM
Post by: REHJWA on April 04, 2018, 08:48:45 AM