U.S. Completes First Successful Felony Prosecution for Illegal Imports of Chilean Sea Bass

November 28, 2006

Release from:
NOAA

Antonio Vidal Pego of Rebeira, Spain, and Fadilur, S.A, a Uruguayan corporation, pleaded guilty and have been sentenced in connection with an attempt to import and sell illegally possessed toothfish, commonly known as Chilean seabass. The toothfish is a slow-growing, deep sea species that has been the subject of international conservation efforts in the face of increased fishing pressure from both legal and “pirate” fishing. The international Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and implementing laws require specific documentation to follow legally harvested toothfish from the point of harvest to the point of final import for consumption.

This is the first successful federal felony prosecution in the United States for activities involving illegal importation and sale of toothfish. Fadilur was convicted of false labeling, importation of illegally possessed fish, and attempted sale of that fish. Eleven cargo containers of toothfish, with an approximate wholesale value of $3.5 million, were shipped on three separate vessels as part of this scheme to illegally import the fish into the United States. Government agents in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York seized all the containers.

For more information, read the NOAA news release.