By Linda Cicoira — A Tangier Island waterman was sentenced late last week in U.S. District Court, in Norfolk, Va., to a year in prison for violating the Lacey Act by harvesting oysters from the Chesapeake Bay in excess of Virginia limits and transporting them to Maryland and selling them.
Gregory Wheatley Parks Jr., 44, a commercial oysterman operating the vessel Melissa Hope, was “properly licensed and therefore aware of the limits,” the prosecutor’s office stated.
Parks could have been given up to five years in prison and fined $250,000. He was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Marshals, in Norfolk, Sept. 20, to begin serving his term. He was also ordered to pay $1,596 in restitution to the VMRC in addition to the $100 special assessment he was charged.
Parks pleaded guilty to the charge in a plea bargaining agreement. In exchange for the plea, the United States agreed not to seek to forfeiture of Parks’ vessel.
The defendant harvested a total of 38 bushels over the limit and took them to Crisfield, Md., where he sold them to a seafood dealer, according to court records. “For the months of January and March 2015, Parks submitted … monthly harvest reports that falsely indicated he did not harvest oysters above the Virginia limits … For the months of February 2015 and January and February 2017, the defendant reported to the VMRC (Virginia Marine Resources Commission) that he had not fished during those time periods, when in fact he had.”
“The oyster is a species integral to both the ecosystem and the economy of Virginia and the greater Chesapeake Bay region,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “In choosing to disregard regulations established with a conscious eye towards preserving a population that has seen a significant decline, Parks’ conduct threatened to impact not just the efforts to protect that resource, but also people whose livelihoods are connected to the oyster fishery.”
“Parks has a long history of violating local and state laws that regulate the harvesting of seafood and wildlife,” the court record stated. “Between 2008 and 2017, Parks was convicted of numerous violations of Maryland and Virginia law related to the harvest of oysters, including possession of oysters over the legal limit, taking oysters from polluted grounds, taking oysters out of season, and larceny of oysters from bedded grounds.
“The over-harvesting of oysters hurts efforts to restore the species’ population after a significant decline, harming both the environment and the law-abiding watermen who choose to follow the rules rather than gain an unfair advantage,” said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. The sentence “demonstrates that people who choose to illegally exploit this valuable resource for personal gain will face the criminal law consequences Congress has ordained.”
Oysters build reefs that serve as a habitat for numerous fish species. They also improve water quality through filtration. Virginia limits the daily harvest to eight bushels per registered commercial fisherman for the purpose of conserving resources.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement proudly protects our nation’s wildlife and wild places for the continuing benefit of the American people,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement. “Overharvest of aquatic ecosystems is a serious crime that hurts native species, local communities, and the economy. By complying with laws that protect wildlife, the American public can help conserve our nation’s natural resources for generations to come.”
