Marine Resources Enforcement Report
for February 2008
MARINE RESOURCES
Short Blackfish = Big Penalty(Queens County)On December 3rd, 2008, Marine Enforcement Unit (MEU) Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) James Davey and Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway found 17 undersized blackfish and two largemouth bass for sale while inspecting live fish tanks at a restaurant in Flushing. The restaurant was charged with possession of undersized marine species,sale of black bass and misdemeanor-level illegal commercialization of fish. On February 1st, the case was settled via a short-form consent order by MEU Lt. Francisco Lopez with the defendant paying a $2,200 penalty. Unfortunately (for the restaurant), this newest round of offenses violated a previous consent order and the restaurant owner had to pay an additional $1,610 dollars in previously-suspended penalties.
Illegal Commercialization Of Fluke (Suffolk County)
On January 16, 2008, MEU ECO Todd Smith assisted Region 1 ECO's Fay Fuerch, Mark Simmons and Investigator Carpenter with an illegal fluke commercialization complaint. The team had information that the fishing vessel Night Moves was landing illegal fluke at Shinne****. Investigator Carpenter conducted surveillance of the Shinne**** Town Dock waiting for the vessel to moor at its slip. When the vessel docked, Inv. Carpenter saw a van back down to the dock where containers similar to those that are used to hold fish were loaded in. Inv. Carpenter contacted ECO Smith, who followed the van and then pulled it over. The van was found to have approximately 600 pounds of fluke inside, nearly 400 pounds over the 210 pound limit. There were also yellowtail flounder, sea scallops and monkfish tails. The owner/operator and his crewman were each charged with possession of over-the-limit fluke and untagged containers of fluke; both are misdemeanors under the illegal commercialization law. The owner/operator was additionally charged with falsifying a vessel trip report. The pair are due to appear in Southampton Town Court.
Major Illegal Blackfish Dealer Arrested On A Felony (Queens County)
On January 26th, 2008, one of Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway's many marine commercialization cases came to fruition when the owner of a Flushing, Queens-based seafood wholesaler was arrested on a felony-level illegal commercialization of fish charge by Region 2 Lt. John Fitzpatrick and Region 2 ECO Kevin Thomas. Back in November 2007, ECO Conway went to the company's warehouse and seized a large quantity - approximately 643 pounds - of short blackfish. With an approximate value of $16 a pound, the illegal fish were worth almost $10,300. Lt. Fitzpatrick assisted ECO Conway with the case by conducting a follow-up interview of the company's owner, as well as bringing the Queens District Attorney's Economic and Environmental Crimes Unit onboard to prosecute the case. This case is a good example of how significant the illegal blackfish trade is in New York City.
Seafood Story In NY City (New York County)
On January 26, 2008, MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix had two civilian ride-alongs from Columbia University, who were interested in doing a story about the seafood industry in New York City and how it was being exploited. The students wanted to follow ECO's into the markets and see what types of violations would be found. The officers conducted numerous market and restaurant inspections, finding three violations. Summonses were issued for "untagged razor clams," "failure to retain shellfish tags for 90 days" and "possession of undersize lobsters." On January 27, 2008, ECOs Powers and LaCroix teamed up with Region 2 ECO Anthony Glorioso and took the two civilians on an A3 vessel patrol in New York Harbor, Raritan Bay and Jamaica Bay. After the tour was complete, the grad students completed the story with a film interview of ECOs Powers and LaCroix.
Uncertified Clamming (Nassau County)
On January 26, 2008, MEU ECO Sean Reilly notified MEU ECO James Davey that a surfclam vessel was not at its home port. ECO Davey then went and observed the vessel working in the "bait area" (uncertified waters) off of the Rockaways. Region 1 Lt.Bengel, along with MEU ECO Nathan Doig, Region ECO Eoin Snowdon, MEU ECO Sean Reilly and Special Agent Anthony Truong (National Marine Fisheries Services [NMFS]), observed the vessel from various locations. They saw him load his bait clams into a truck. Once in the truck, the ECO's inspected the catch and found that the clams harvested from the bait area were tagged as food clams. These clams were headed to a food processor in Delaware. There are various charges pending with the State as well as NMFS.
Washington Post Ride Along (New York County)
On January 28, 2008, MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix met up with Ms. Robin Schulman, a reporter from the Washington Post. Ms. Schulman is writing a story on the illegal exploitation of seafood in New York City. The officers took the reporter on a ride-along in Manhattan where they performed multiple market and restaurant inspections. At the end of the day, ECOs Powers and LaCroix issued four markets a total of six summonses and one written warning. Summonses were issued for "possession of untagged striped bass," "possession of undersized striped bass," "possession of striped bass out of slot size," "possession of mutilated striped bass," "storage of shellfish on the floor," "possession of untagged shellfish" and a written warning was issued for "possession of one undersized lobster".
Chinatown Charade (New York County)
During the reporting period, Region 2 Lt. John Fitzpatrick set up and organized a detail focusing on the illegal sale of raw shellfish from China that is mislabeled as cooked shellfish. The detail resulted in the seizure of 2,831 packages of non-FDA approved shellfish from Chinatown markets. All of the illegal shellfish was confiscated before it could be consumed and possibly cause people to become ill. Lt. Fitzpatrick first enlisted the expertise of Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway by having him inspect markets in the city's three Chinatowns in plainclothes in the weeks prior to the detail. This helped identify which locations to target for the detail. Lt. Fitzpatrick then enlisted the assistance of Kristen Campbell, a shellfish inspector for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He paired Campbell up to go out with ECO Conway in plainclothes early on the day of the detail to confirm the presence of raw shellfish in packages labeled "cooked." Then, on February 6th, 2008, once ECO Conway and Inspector Campbell confirmed the markets in Manhattan's Chinatown that were still selling the illegal product, Lt. Fitzpatrick coordinated the simultaneous deployment of multiple Region 2 ECOs at the locations to avoid the disposal of evidence. The following ECO's took part in the detail: Michael Buckley, Jeff Conway, John Lifrieri, Doreen Lum, Aaron Markey, Jennifer Okonuk, Kevin Thomas and Brian Toth. ECO's Ricardo Grisolini and MEU ECO James Davey were called in and assisted with the transport of evidence. ECO Buckley inspected the Szechuan Fish Market on Market Street and found that approximately 15 packages of raw razor clams from China were being offered for sale and another 21 packages were in a chest freezer. ECO Buckley issued summonses for the sale of non-FDA approved shellfish. Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO's Conway and Lifrieri conducted an inspection at Zhong Guo Chang Supermarket on East Broadway. The freezers on the retail floor revealed several packages of razor clams and oysters labeled as cooked that appeared to be raw. The store employees must have realized what ECO Conway and Inspector Campbell were up to because by the time the uniformed members arrived, the illegal product had been hidden under legal products. But, the real reward came when the freezers downstairs were inspected and an additional 19 boxes of uncooked razor clams were ultimately seized. In all, almost $1,300 worth of illegal shellfish was seized from this location.
ECO Markey inspected a market known as Bao Ding Seafood on Division Street. ECO Conway had observed raw oysters from China (that were labeled as cooked clams) being offered for sale on the selling floor. By the time that ECO Markey arrived at the location, the store workers had evidently become suspicious of ECO Conway's plainclothes visit to the store and attempted to hide the raw oysters. ECO's Markey and Conway began a thorough inspection of the store and discovered four boxes of raw oysters, with 28 packages to a box, hidden in a walk-in freezer in the market's basement. ECO's Markey and Conway continued their investigation and found an additional 61 boxes of raw razor clams from China in the basement. In all, over $7,000 worth of illegal shellfish was seized from this location. Incredibly, Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO Markey have already seized pallets worth of the same raw Chinese shellfish from Bao Ding (the owner's wife happens to own the other market inspected on the detail, Zhong Guo Chang) in a previous case that is yet uncharged, but that hasn't appeared to stop either company from continuing to sell the contraband. As the officers were loading up the two large MEU pick-up trucks with the seized product, a reporter from the World Journal, North America's largest Chinese newspaper, showed up at the location and began taking photos of the activity. The next day, the paper featured an article on the DEC's enforcement activity and featured a photo of the ECO's.
This detail arose from an ongoing investigation into the sale of falsely-labeled raw shellfish from China that Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO Markey have been working jointly with the Attorney General's office. Asst. Attorney General Jason Garelick is the prosecutor working with the Division of Law Enforcement. The FDA lab in New York City is assisting in the investigation by conducting testing on the seized product. In addition, Lee Porter of the DEC's shellfish lab will be conducting further testing of the seized shellfish, with assistance from the shellfisheries staff.
Undersized Tautog In Flushing (Queens County)
On Sunday morning, February 3, 2008, MEU ECO James Davey and Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway were conducting restaurant and market inspections in Flushing, Queens. Jade Asian Restaurant was inspected and found to have 11 undersize tautog measuring between 10.5 and 13 inches in a tank located in the restaurant kitchen. Officers measured the live fish one by one and when the sloppy task was over, decided to look downstairs in the basement. Upon inspection, the officers discovered four more tautog measuring less than the commercial minimum sizelimit of 14 inches. Twenty-one pounds of illegal fish were seized and an administrative ticket was issued along with a criminal summons documenting a misdemeanor charge of illegal commercialization.
Short Blackfish In Kings County (Kings County)
On February 7, 2008, while conducting fish market inspections in plain clothes, Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway found what appeared to be undersize blackfish in a market on 8th Avenue in Brooklyn. MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix were contacted and responded to the location. The blackfish were measured and weighed. In total, there were 171 fish weighing 290 pounds and having a retail value of $4,000.00. The fish were donated to the Open Door Church of Brooklyn. Charges are pending for possession of undersized marine species and felony commercialization of wildlife.
for February 2008
MARINE RESOURCES
Short Blackfish = Big Penalty(Queens County)On December 3rd, 2008, Marine Enforcement Unit (MEU) Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) James Davey and Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway found 17 undersized blackfish and two largemouth bass for sale while inspecting live fish tanks at a restaurant in Flushing. The restaurant was charged with possession of undersized marine species,sale of black bass and misdemeanor-level illegal commercialization of fish. On February 1st, the case was settled via a short-form consent order by MEU Lt. Francisco Lopez with the defendant paying a $2,200 penalty. Unfortunately (for the restaurant), this newest round of offenses violated a previous consent order and the restaurant owner had to pay an additional $1,610 dollars in previously-suspended penalties.
Illegal Commercialization Of Fluke (Suffolk County)
On January 16, 2008, MEU ECO Todd Smith assisted Region 1 ECO's Fay Fuerch, Mark Simmons and Investigator Carpenter with an illegal fluke commercialization complaint. The team had information that the fishing vessel Night Moves was landing illegal fluke at Shinne****. Investigator Carpenter conducted surveillance of the Shinne**** Town Dock waiting for the vessel to moor at its slip. When the vessel docked, Inv. Carpenter saw a van back down to the dock where containers similar to those that are used to hold fish were loaded in. Inv. Carpenter contacted ECO Smith, who followed the van and then pulled it over. The van was found to have approximately 600 pounds of fluke inside, nearly 400 pounds over the 210 pound limit. There were also yellowtail flounder, sea scallops and monkfish tails. The owner/operator and his crewman were each charged with possession of over-the-limit fluke and untagged containers of fluke; both are misdemeanors under the illegal commercialization law. The owner/operator was additionally charged with falsifying a vessel trip report. The pair are due to appear in Southampton Town Court.
Major Illegal Blackfish Dealer Arrested On A Felony (Queens County)
On January 26th, 2008, one of Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway's many marine commercialization cases came to fruition when the owner of a Flushing, Queens-based seafood wholesaler was arrested on a felony-level illegal commercialization of fish charge by Region 2 Lt. John Fitzpatrick and Region 2 ECO Kevin Thomas. Back in November 2007, ECO Conway went to the company's warehouse and seized a large quantity - approximately 643 pounds - of short blackfish. With an approximate value of $16 a pound, the illegal fish were worth almost $10,300. Lt. Fitzpatrick assisted ECO Conway with the case by conducting a follow-up interview of the company's owner, as well as bringing the Queens District Attorney's Economic and Environmental Crimes Unit onboard to prosecute the case. This case is a good example of how significant the illegal blackfish trade is in New York City.
Seafood Story In NY City (New York County)
On January 26, 2008, MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix had two civilian ride-alongs from Columbia University, who were interested in doing a story about the seafood industry in New York City and how it was being exploited. The students wanted to follow ECO's into the markets and see what types of violations would be found. The officers conducted numerous market and restaurant inspections, finding three violations. Summonses were issued for "untagged razor clams," "failure to retain shellfish tags for 90 days" and "possession of undersize lobsters." On January 27, 2008, ECOs Powers and LaCroix teamed up with Region 2 ECO Anthony Glorioso and took the two civilians on an A3 vessel patrol in New York Harbor, Raritan Bay and Jamaica Bay. After the tour was complete, the grad students completed the story with a film interview of ECOs Powers and LaCroix.
Uncertified Clamming (Nassau County)
On January 26, 2008, MEU ECO Sean Reilly notified MEU ECO James Davey that a surfclam vessel was not at its home port. ECO Davey then went and observed the vessel working in the "bait area" (uncertified waters) off of the Rockaways. Region 1 Lt.Bengel, along with MEU ECO Nathan Doig, Region ECO Eoin Snowdon, MEU ECO Sean Reilly and Special Agent Anthony Truong (National Marine Fisheries Services [NMFS]), observed the vessel from various locations. They saw him load his bait clams into a truck. Once in the truck, the ECO's inspected the catch and found that the clams harvested from the bait area were tagged as food clams. These clams were headed to a food processor in Delaware. There are various charges pending with the State as well as NMFS.
Washington Post Ride Along (New York County)
On January 28, 2008, MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix met up with Ms. Robin Schulman, a reporter from the Washington Post. Ms. Schulman is writing a story on the illegal exploitation of seafood in New York City. The officers took the reporter on a ride-along in Manhattan where they performed multiple market and restaurant inspections. At the end of the day, ECOs Powers and LaCroix issued four markets a total of six summonses and one written warning. Summonses were issued for "possession of untagged striped bass," "possession of undersized striped bass," "possession of striped bass out of slot size," "possession of mutilated striped bass," "storage of shellfish on the floor," "possession of untagged shellfish" and a written warning was issued for "possession of one undersized lobster".
Chinatown Charade (New York County)
During the reporting period, Region 2 Lt. John Fitzpatrick set up and organized a detail focusing on the illegal sale of raw shellfish from China that is mislabeled as cooked shellfish. The detail resulted in the seizure of 2,831 packages of non-FDA approved shellfish from Chinatown markets. All of the illegal shellfish was confiscated before it could be consumed and possibly cause people to become ill. Lt. Fitzpatrick first enlisted the expertise of Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway by having him inspect markets in the city's three Chinatowns in plainclothes in the weeks prior to the detail. This helped identify which locations to target for the detail. Lt. Fitzpatrick then enlisted the assistance of Kristen Campbell, a shellfish inspector for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He paired Campbell up to go out with ECO Conway in plainclothes early on the day of the detail to confirm the presence of raw shellfish in packages labeled "cooked." Then, on February 6th, 2008, once ECO Conway and Inspector Campbell confirmed the markets in Manhattan's Chinatown that were still selling the illegal product, Lt. Fitzpatrick coordinated the simultaneous deployment of multiple Region 2 ECOs at the locations to avoid the disposal of evidence. The following ECO's took part in the detail: Michael Buckley, Jeff Conway, John Lifrieri, Doreen Lum, Aaron Markey, Jennifer Okonuk, Kevin Thomas and Brian Toth. ECO's Ricardo Grisolini and MEU ECO James Davey were called in and assisted with the transport of evidence. ECO Buckley inspected the Szechuan Fish Market on Market Street and found that approximately 15 packages of raw razor clams from China were being offered for sale and another 21 packages were in a chest freezer. ECO Buckley issued summonses for the sale of non-FDA approved shellfish. Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO's Conway and Lifrieri conducted an inspection at Zhong Guo Chang Supermarket on East Broadway. The freezers on the retail floor revealed several packages of razor clams and oysters labeled as cooked that appeared to be raw. The store employees must have realized what ECO Conway and Inspector Campbell were up to because by the time the uniformed members arrived, the illegal product had been hidden under legal products. But, the real reward came when the freezers downstairs were inspected and an additional 19 boxes of uncooked razor clams were ultimately seized. In all, almost $1,300 worth of illegal shellfish was seized from this location.
ECO Markey inspected a market known as Bao Ding Seafood on Division Street. ECO Conway had observed raw oysters from China (that were labeled as cooked clams) being offered for sale on the selling floor. By the time that ECO Markey arrived at the location, the store workers had evidently become suspicious of ECO Conway's plainclothes visit to the store and attempted to hide the raw oysters. ECO's Markey and Conway began a thorough inspection of the store and discovered four boxes of raw oysters, with 28 packages to a box, hidden in a walk-in freezer in the market's basement. ECO's Markey and Conway continued their investigation and found an additional 61 boxes of raw razor clams from China in the basement. In all, over $7,000 worth of illegal shellfish was seized from this location. Incredibly, Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO Markey have already seized pallets worth of the same raw Chinese shellfish from Bao Ding (the owner's wife happens to own the other market inspected on the detail, Zhong Guo Chang) in a previous case that is yet uncharged, but that hasn't appeared to stop either company from continuing to sell the contraband. As the officers were loading up the two large MEU pick-up trucks with the seized product, a reporter from the World Journal, North America's largest Chinese newspaper, showed up at the location and began taking photos of the activity. The next day, the paper featured an article on the DEC's enforcement activity and featured a photo of the ECO's.
This detail arose from an ongoing investigation into the sale of falsely-labeled raw shellfish from China that Lt. Fitzpatrick and ECO Markey have been working jointly with the Attorney General's office. Asst. Attorney General Jason Garelick is the prosecutor working with the Division of Law Enforcement. The FDA lab in New York City is assisting in the investigation by conducting testing on the seized product. In addition, Lee Porter of the DEC's shellfish lab will be conducting further testing of the seized shellfish, with assistance from the shellfisheries staff.
Undersized Tautog In Flushing (Queens County)
On Sunday morning, February 3, 2008, MEU ECO James Davey and Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway were conducting restaurant and market inspections in Flushing, Queens. Jade Asian Restaurant was inspected and found to have 11 undersize tautog measuring between 10.5 and 13 inches in a tank located in the restaurant kitchen. Officers measured the live fish one by one and when the sloppy task was over, decided to look downstairs in the basement. Upon inspection, the officers discovered four more tautog measuring less than the commercial minimum sizelimit of 14 inches. Twenty-one pounds of illegal fish were seized and an administrative ticket was issued along with a criminal summons documenting a misdemeanor charge of illegal commercialization.
Short Blackfish In Kings County (Kings County)
On February 7, 2008, while conducting fish market inspections in plain clothes, Region 2 ECO Jeff Conway found what appeared to be undersize blackfish in a market on 8th Avenue in Brooklyn. MEU Officers Jamie Powers and Matthew LaCroix were contacted and responded to the location. The blackfish were measured and weighed. In total, there were 171 fish weighing 290 pounds and having a retail value of $4,000.00. The fish were donated to the Open Door Church of Brooklyn. Charges are pending for possession of undersized marine species and felony commercialization of wildlife.
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