Bay Area couple pleads guilty to illegally selling fish out of their home

"A Rohnert Park husband and wife pleaded guilty to illegally selling fish out of their home after a state investigation uncovered what authorities said was an unlicensed fish retailing business in operation for more than 10 years. Richard and Shalley Tran, of Rohnert Park, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of illegally selling and exchanging fish for profit or personal gain, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office."

"Krysten Kellum, a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said during the investigation officials discovered the Trans had sold 243 tuna and about 3,000 pounds of mackerel in less than a month. Investigators also issued a search warrant and found evidence of prior fishing activity that targeted crab, striped bass, halibut, shark, rockfish, lingcod, sea bass and clams."

"Prosecutors say the operation violated several commercial fishing laws, including using a vessel that was not commercially registered, employing people who did not have commercial fishing licenses, failing to obtain a Fish Receiver's License and bypassing fish "landing procedures," in which the state tracks catches, enforces quotas and collects fees. "When sport-caught fish are unlawfully commercialized, large volumes of data go unreported, directly undermining effective fishery management," Kellum said."

A Rohnert Park couple admitted to illegally selling sport-caught fish for profit over a period exceeding ten years. The Trans harvested and sold fish along the Northern and Central California coast, from Santa Cruz to Eureka, dating back to 2014. Investigators found evidence they sold 243 tuna and about 3,000 pounds of mackerel in under a month and uncovered prior catches of crab, striped bass, halibut, shark, rockfish, lingcod, sea bass and clams. The operation violated commercial fishing rules including unregistered vessel use, unlicensed workers, no Fish Receiver's License, and bypassed landing procedures. The plea led to forfeiture of $66,000, surrender of gear, and a one-year fishing prohibition.

Read at The Mercury News