Southeast lodge nets $10,000 fine, probation

The Alaska State Troopers today issued the following press release:

Jan. 13, 2011

Alaska lodge guilty of sale of sport fish

JUNEAU — The Doc Warner's lodge near Juneau received a sentence today following a multiagency investigation beginning in the summer of 2009.

Doc Warner's lodge is an Alaskan limited liability corporation. Investigators with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did an undercover operation at the lodge in 2009. Investigators were fed sport-caught fish as a part of the paid package during their stay. Employees of Doc Warner's admitted that fish fed to clients was sport-caught by other clients and/or employees.

Alaska law provides that no person may buy, sell or barter sport-caught fish or their parts. A violation of this law is punishable as a class A misdemeanor offense and a corporation that violates this law may be punished by a fine of up to $200,000 per offense.

NOAA turned the investigation over to state authorities for further investigation by Alaska Wildlife Troopers and prosecution by the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals.

The Office of Special Prosecutions charged Doc Warner’s Alaska Fishing Inc. with four counts of sale of sport-caught fish for the years 2006-2009.

On Jan. 13, 2009, the corporation entered a guilty plea to one consolidated charge of sale of sport-caught fish in violation of 5 AAC 75.015.

Judge Nave imposed the agreed upon sentence of a fine of $40,000 with $30,000 suspended, informal probation for a period of two years, with the conditions that the corporation commit no new law violations, including fish and game offenses.