NOAA settles shark case with New York fish dealer for $750,000
August 12, 2006

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of General Counsel has settled a multiple-violation shark case with the owner of Brooklyn-based Agger Fish Corporation. The fish dealer admitted to purchasing shark meat and fins without a federal permit, failing to report the vast majority of those purchases to federal authorities, and possessing fins from seven shark species that are prohibited from harvest under federal law, including basking and white sharks.

The settlement agreement requires Agger Fish to pay a civil penalty of $750,000 and forfeit nearly 1,000 pounds of dried shark fins, including more than 230 pounds from prohibited species worth approximately $80,000. An additional $250,000 penalty was suspended.

"This case sends a strong message to would-be violators of fisheries laws that failure to follow those laws can be very costly," said Special Agent Andy Cohen, head of NOAA's Northeast fisheries enforcement division. "Agger Fish Company attempted to undermine federal laws that protect sharks and legitimate shark fishermen, and NOAA will continue to seek out these bad actors and bring them to justice."

Agents discovered the violations in 2003 during a joint investigation by NOAA's Office for Law Enforcement and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Police. After searching the company's Brooklyn facility, agents discovered that Agger Fish had purchased approximately 300,000 pounds of federally regulated shark meat and fins over a two-and-a-half year period without the required federal shark dealer permit.

The United States has managed domestic Atlantic shark fisheries since 1993. Populations of many species have continued to decline over the past decade, however, despite a highly regulated U.S. fishery. Domestic shark fisheries are subject to a commercial limited entry program, low annual quotas, a prohibition on landing 19 of the most depleted species, recreational catch limits and a prohibition on shark finning - the practice of cutting the fins off the shark and disposing of the carcass.

In 2004, the United States successfully negotiated a binding agreement among 63 Atlantic fishing nations to ban shark finning in broader efforts to manage sharks. Domestic requirements for dealer permits and reporting help bolster important scientific information used to determine shark abundance.