Oyster Harvest Lands Federal Conviction for Fishermen and Seafood Wholesaler

Following a seven-week trial, multiple defendants were convicted in federal court in New Jersey on multiple felony counts related to the harvesting and possession of oysters.  The defendants (two fishermen and a seafood wholesale company) were convicted on multiple felony counts of violating the Lacey Act by creating false records for illegally possessed oysters, trafficking in illegally possessed oysters and falsifying records used by the FDA to track the movement of oysters in interstate commerce.  They and a fourth defendant -- an employee of the seafood distributor -- were also convicted of conspiracy to commit those crimes and obstruction of justice.

The Lacy Act prohibits creating or submitting false records regarding fish or wildlife moving in interstate commerce and also prohibits trafficking in fish or wildlife known to be illegally taken or possessed.  The FDA and state health agencies require that oyster purchasers and sellers maintain accurate records of the amounts and locations of oyster harvest for all oysters they buy and sell in order to protect the public health and minimize the impact of any oyster-borne outbreak of disease.

Starting in at least 2004 and continuing through 2007, Thomas and Todd Reeves, oyster fishermen who owned Shellrock (dba Reeves Brothers), would take more than their legal quota of oysters from the Delaware Bay.  The Reeveses would then falsify the records that New Jersey used to track the number of oysters harvested from the bay and sell those unreported oysters to Mark Bryan at Harbor House in Delaware.  Thomas Reeves, Todd Reeves and Renee Reeves, along with Mark Bryan at Harbor House, would also coordinate to cover up their overharvest by falsifying records required by the FDA.  In addition, the defendants conspired to obstruct the federal investigation into their illegal conduct by providing investigators with false records and making false statements that attempted to hide their conduct.  Bryan and Harbor House also purchased unreported oysters from Kenneth W. Bailey Sr., another New Jersey oyster fisherman.  Like the Reeveses, Bailey would create false records required by the state and the FDA to hide his overharvest.

The fair market retail value of the unreported oysters during this time was in excess of $750,000, and the defendants over-harvested their quota in some years by nearly 60 percent.

The maximum penalty for the corporations is up to five years of probation and a fine in an amount that is the greater of $500,000 or twice the gross gain for each count.  For the remaining defendants, the maximum penalty for conspiring to commit offenses and for violations of the Lacey Act is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; the maximum penalty for obstruction of justice counts is up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The lessons here?  Follow the rules, and if you get caught breaking the rules, 'fess up to it!  Trying to hide it and creating fake reports will just make things worse.