Wed, 03/20/2024 - 5:30pm

Sarah Shepherd

PORTLAND — The trial for the fishermen and seafood dealers who were indicted in 2022 with conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice in connection with a multi-year scheme to sell unreported Atlantic herring and falsify fishing records began March 7 and ended four days later with the defendants all pleading guilty to a lesser charge of falsification of fishing records.

According to a March 18 court document, they will not be sentenced until the week of July 8.

The defendants who pleaded guilty March 11 were Glenn Robbins, 76, of Eliot; Ethan Chase, 46, of Portsmouth, N.H.; Neil Herrick, 48, of Rockland; Stephen Little, 58, of Warren; Jason Parent, 51, of Owls Head; and Western Sea, Inc. of Rockland.

The fishermen are guilty of not mailing fishing vessel trip reports to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. “The trip report requires, among other things, that the vessel report all species caught, the weight of each catch, and the dealers to whom the catch is sold,” according to the pretrial court document filed by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine.

The maximum penalties for the plea agreement may include one year in prison, a fine up to $100,000, and one year of supervised release, according to the court document.

The other defendants, Glenn Lawrence, 70, of Owls Head, and Samuel Olson, 73, of Cushing, who were also indicted last year, were not included in the federal court trial since they already pleaded guilty.

Lawrence was scheduled to plead guilty Nov. 7 to one count of unlawfully purchasing fish through interstate commerce. A plea agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the defense includes that Lawrence will serve a prison sentence of no more than one year, probation of between 12 and 24 months and a $9,500 fine. His probation will include 50 hours of community service and he is prohibited from being an officer or owner of any entity that hold a federal dealer permit for Atlantic Herring.

Previous to the guilty plea, the attorney for Lawrence filed a motion in May 2022 asking the court to suppress all of his statements made in 2019 to Maine Marine Patrol Officer in a trial. Lawrence is a commercial fisherman who owns the fishing vessel the Double Eagle.

Lawrence argued that the statements he made to the Maine Marine Patrol during his three September 2019 interviews were conducted in violation of his Fourth and Fifth Amendment Rights. The motion to suppress was denied by the judge in June. Lawrence’s attorney filed a motion for reconsideration which was also denied by the judge in August.

Olson was granted a motion by Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy for leave to file for dismissal. Previously on Aug. 9, the attorney for Olson and Sam’s Seafood filed a consent motion to continue trial due to health issues and ongoing evaluation and treatment.

On Dec. 7, the attorney for Little filed a notice to change his plea and a hearing was scheduled for Dec. 26. At the hearing, Little was required to identify every prescription medication he was taking and specify the dosages and frequency, purpose, and any effects of the medication. The same requirement applied to medications prescribed to Little but not taken, along with an additional requirement that he explain why the medication was not taken and the consequences of the failure to take it, according to the court document.

According to the indictment in January 2022, between June 2016 and September 2019, the owner, captains, and crew aboard the fishing vessel Western Sea sold more than 2.6 million pounds of Atlantic herring that was not reported to the NOAA. The indictment alleges that members of the crew were paid directly by fish dealers and lobster vessel operators for the unreported herring.

Atlantic herring is defined as a small schooling fish that serves as a primary bait for Maine’s lobster industry.

Maine herring regulations require harvester vessels to send an email to the Maine Department of Marine Resources three hours prior to landing with information regarding the harvester, vessel and total catch. NOAA relies upon accurate reports to set polices designed to ensure a sustainable fishery, requires all dealers to submit, on a weekly basis, electronic dealer reports detailing information about the fish purchased, the federal agency said.

In September 2019, the Maine Patrol was surveilling the Western Sea in an attempt to quantify how much herring the fishing vessel had harvested and offloaded in Rockland. Court documents state that the Marine Patrol witnessed the Double Eagle pull up alongside the Western Sea at the Rockland Fish Pier and receive herring, which was later offloaded in Stonington.

Maine Marine Patrol Colonel Jay Carroll said in January 2022 that, “the charges are the result of a significant investigation by Maine Marine Patrol with support from the Maine State Police to uncover violations that cheat other harvesters and dealers who comply with quota and reporting requirements.”

He said: “By violating quota limits and reporting requirements, these violations also undermine efforts designed to rebuild this critically important stock.”