NOAA Fisheries has charged companies located in Hawaii and Hong Kong and the captain of a fishing vessel with the illegal possession of shark fins following a record seizure in August 2002. NOAA Fisheries has charged Tran and Yu Inc., of Hawaii, Tai Loong Hong Marine Products, Ltd., of Hong Kong, and Captain Chien Tan Nguyen, with 26 counts of possessing shark fins on board a U.S. fishing vessel without the corresponding shark carcasses.

NOAA assessed the parties a civil penalty of $620,000, the highest civil penalty on record for violation of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act. This is the largest seizure of shark fins in the United States since the federal law was passed in 2000.