Importer pays $1 million for mislabeling fish

   California-based Seafood Solutions Inc. was sentenced in federal court in Los Angeles Monday to pay $1 million in fines and community service payments for its role in the false labeling of frozen fish fillets, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
   The sentence stemmed from the company’s conviction last July for trafficking in fish that had been transported and sold in violation of the Lacey Act, a conservation law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally acquired, transported or sold.
   Prosecutors said Seafood Solutions misleadingly labeled fish imports as “Paradise Grouper” and “Falcon Baie Grouper.” According to plea agreements for two co-defendants, Seafood Solutions in 2004 began to sell fish it declared to U.S. Customs as “ponga,” a species of fish in the catfish family. The fish was then sold under the brand names, and in boxes labeled in part as grouper.
    Last year, co-defendants Duke Lin, 64, of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in fish with knowledge that the fish had been transported and sold in violation of the Lacey Act. Lin also pleaded guilty to one count of misbranding food. Christopher Ragone, 50, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty to two counts of misbranding food. The sentencing hearing for the individuals is set for Feb. 13. 
   Seafood Solutions will pay a $700,000 fine and make a $300,000 donation to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund research projects for identifying marine organisms. In addition, the company was sentenced to three year’s probation and ordered to forfeit all remaining inventory of the falsely labeled fish and implement a corporate compliance plan.
   The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security. — Eric Kulisch