http://www.foxreno.com/news/6846944/detail.html
Feds Bust Up Illegal Shark Selling Ring
POSTED: 2:48 pm PST February 8, 2006
UPDATED: 7:20 pm PST February 8, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal grand jury has indicted six men -- including an East Bay pastor -- on charges of criminally catching and selling thousands of undersized juvenile leopard sharks allegedly harvested from the San Francisco Bay.
The indictment, which was returned on Jan. 24 and unsealed Tuesday afternoon, alleges that the pastor of a San Leandro church, four men involved in the aquarium industry, and a fisherman violated the Lacey Act, which makes it a federal offense to knowingly sell or purchase fish, wildlife or plants that were captured in violation of any underlying law.
Prosecutors said the Lacey Act charges specifically incorporate California state law, which places a minimum size limit of 36 inches for any commercial harvest of California leopard sharks.
The indictment charges five of the six men with conspiracy to harvest thousands of undersized (under 36 inches in length) California leopard sharks from the San Francisco Bay, and then sell and ship the juvenile sharks to pet trade distributors throughout the U.S. and the world.
The indictment specifically charges that approximately 465 juvenile leopard sharks were sold to companies in Miami, Chicago, Houston, Romulus, Mich., Milford, Conn., the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The U.S. Attorney's office said the men indicted are:
--Kevin Thompson, 48, of San Leandro, the pastor at the Bay Area Family Church, Holy Spirit Association - Unification Worldwide Church in San Leandro. Thompson and the church co-owned at least one vessel, prosecutors say.
--John Newberry, 34, of Hayward, worked at Pan Ocean Aquarium Inc. and was previously a commercial fisherman.
--Ira Gass, 53, of Azusa, is a marine aquaria dealer in Azusa who operated Indorica Fish Imports, an aquaria business.
--Hiroshi Ishikawa, 36, of San Leandro, was a member of the Bay Area Family Church in San Leandro and a fisherman.
--Vincent Ng, 43, of Oakland, owned Amazon Aquarium Inc. in Alameda.
--Sion Lim, 39, of San Francisco, owned Bayside Aquatics, which is located in Oakland, and was charged with one violation of the Lacey Act for the illegal sale of juvenile leopard sharks on May 6, 2004.
The U.S. Attorney's office says California leopard sharks are a species of shark within the Triakidae family and are commonly found in ocean waters along the Oregon, California, and Baja Mexico coasts.
Juvenile leopard sharks are commonly found in bays and estuaries from the California-Oregon border south to Baja, Mexico.
Major pupping areas where young California leopard sharks are born are found within San Francisco and Monterey Bays as well as the southern California coast.
The pupping season extends from March through July with a peak between April and May. Pups are born live and are approximately 10 inches long.
The U.S. Attorney's office said both the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Ill., and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey collaborated with and assisted federal wildlife agents and Illinois Conservation officers in the transport and care of 19 baby leopard sharks confiscated during the course of the investigation.
Prosecutors said the baby sharks, which ranged in size from eight-and-a-half to 17 1/2 inches, were shipped to California in July 2004 by Shedd Aquarium staff and received further care at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Nine were ultimately returned to the wild in Monterey Bay in the summer of 2004.
Three remain on exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium and seven died either at the Shedd Aquarium or the Monterey Bay Aquarium because of their poor condition at the time they were confiscated, according to prosecutors.
Five of the individuals identified in the indictment were arrested Tuesday at various locations around the East Bay and Ira Gass was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday.
All of those arrested made their initial appearances in federal court in Oakland and Los Angeles on Tuesday.
