Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced that Dewey W. Willis Jr. pleaded guilty to federal charges for illegally harvesting Atlantic striped bass from federal waters in 2010. It has been illegal to harvest the Atlantic striped bass, also referred to as a “rockfish” or a “striper,” from federal waters since 1990 due to the severe decrease in stock. The decline in stock has resulted from overfishing and environmental conditions since the 1970s. “The illegal poaching of striped bass by commercial fishermen has a major impact on the survival of this iconic fish resource and has the potential to devastate the future livelihoods of law-abiding commercial fishermen,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
After receiving an informative tip, NOAA conducted a multi-defendant investigation on Willis’s claim of harvesting the Atlantic striped bass from state waters. The study confirmed that Willis made false claims, had illegally harvested, and did not correctly report his catch of the Atlantic striped bass. Willis’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 12, 2016.
Willis is now subjected to enforcement mechanisms of the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act states that it is unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish in violation of any law or regulation of the United States. The Lacey Act carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, plus the potential forfeiture of vessels and vehicles used in committing the offense. Additionally, the Lacey Act rewards any person who furnishes information that leads to an arrest, criminal conviction, civil penalty assessment, or forfeiture of property for any violation of the Lacey Act.
This case is a perfect example of why it is critical to reward wildlife whistleblowers; without the informative tip, NOAA might not have identified Willis’s illegal behavior.
The National Whistleblower Center’s new Global Wildlife Whistleblower Program provides a platform through which insiders can report illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing and other wildlife crimes. The NWC was recently named a Grand Prize Winner in the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, an initiative of USAID in partnership with the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and TRAFFIC. NWC’s Grand Prize-Winning solution, the Secure Internet Wildlife Crime Reporting System, is a secure online platform, a one-stop-shop through which whistleblowers can safely and anonymously file reports of wildlife crimes and gain helpful information about how wildlife whistleblower laws work.
Learn More:
- Monetary Rewards for Wildlife Whistleblowers–A Breakthrough for Environmental Protection
- NWC Project Wins People’s Choice Award
- Congratulations to the Grand Prize Winners!
- Report Wildlife Crimes
- How to partner (for NGOs).
- How to partner (for attorneys).
- If you are a whistleblower seeking legal aid and want to speak to NWC, click here.
- Read more about the National Whistleblower Center’s international work here.
** Hat Tip to NWC Legal Intern Kathleen Left for her help with this blog!
