U.S. caviar seller runs afoul of Lacey Act

   The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said two Kentuckians and their caviar companies pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to trafficking in and falsely labeling illegally harvested paddlefish.
   Steve Kinder and his wife, Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., owned and operated Kinder Caviar Inc. and Black Star Caviar Co. Those companies were in the business of exporting paddlefish eggs as caviar to customers overseas.
   Paddlefish, whose eggs are marketed as caviar, are protected by both federal and Ohio law. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which is codified in U.S. law through the Endangered Species Act, regulates international trade in certain species. Paddlefish are listed on Appendix II of CITES. Appendix II species, or their parts, which were harvested in the United States, may be exported only if they are accompanied by a valid export permit issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
   Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it a crime to transport or sell fish, or their parts, knowing that the fish were harvested in violation of any state’s law. The Act also makes it a crime to make or submit a false record, account or label for, or false identification of, fish or fish parts which were, or were intended to be, exported, transported or sold.
   According to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, Cornelia Joyce Kinder admitted to making false statements on behalf of Kinder Caviar in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about March 15, 2007. Specifically, she misrepresented the amount of legally-harvested paddlefish eggs that she could provide documentation for, as well as misidentified the fishermen who harvested the paddlefish and the location of harvest, the Justice Department said.
   As part of a plea agreement, Cornelia Joyce Kinder also admitted to making false statements on behalf of Black Star Caviar Co. in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about Dec. 18, 2010. Specifically, she completed the form using the name of a subordinate employee and forged that employee’s signature on the form in order to give the impression that she was not the applicant.
   Both Steve and Cornelia Joyce Kinder also admitted to “aiding and abetting” one another in harvesting paddlefish in Ohio waters, using gill nets attached to the Ohio shoreline, on or about May 5, 2007, and transporting the paddlefish to Kentucky with the intent to sell them when they should have known that the fish were harvested in violation of Ohio law, the Justice Department said.
   Kinder Caviar and Black Star Caviar Company have each agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and serve a three-year term of probation, during which those companies will be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit. In addition, both Steve and Cornelia Joyce Kinder have agreed to serve a three-year term of probation, during which time they will each perform 100 hours of community service, be prohibited from fishing anywhere in the Ohio River where that river forms the border between Ohio and Kentucky, and be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit, either on behalf of themselves or anyone else.
   In accordance with Kentucky law, both husband and wife face possible suspension of their Kentucky commercial fishing licenses.
   Also as part of the plea agreement, the boat and truck that were used in furtherance of the Lacey Act crimes have been forfeited, the Justice Department said.