Yep this is a valid point. Having realized his mistake he could have released the "dead" fish back into the water to avoid further penalty. He would have only been guilty of removing the fish from the water at that point, and face no retention charge. By willfully clipping and retaining the fish he made the charge egregious and deliberate.

As we all well know "not knowing" is not an excuse for breaking the law. This, however is an instance of someone knowing the law and willfully breaking it.

I wonder how many hundreds of "illegal " fish find there way into the cooler all over the state? Knowingly and blatantly .

Pales in comparison to the number of wild fish inadvertently and accidentally caught in a mesh and thrown in a tug...what the hell anyway. Nobody gives a rats ass...

If anyone thinks he didn't know exactly what he was doing all along, then I've got a bridge to sell you. Straight up bitch poacher, and that is the entirety of the story.

The only thing dumber than a poacher is one who posts pics on facebook with fresh adipose cut wounds.

In the middle ages people that dumb died before they reach adulthood. Maybe modern medicine has gone too far.

Fish on...

Todd

RCW 77.15 state Manditory suspension of Lic for up to 5 years for and of the listed offences, Harvesting any Endangered fish. Is the second listed offence

Here is the applicable RCW:

CW 77.15.120
Endangered fish or wildlife—Unlawful taking—Penalty.
(1) A person is guilty of unlawful taking of endangered fish or wildlife in the second degree if:
(a) The person hunts for, fishes for, possesses, maliciously harasses, or kills fish or wildlife, or possesses or intentionally destroys the nests or eggs of fish or wildlife;
(b) The fish or wildlife is designated by the commission as endangered; and
(c) The taking of the fish or wildlife or the destruction of the nests or eggs has not been authorized by rule of the commission, a permit issued by the department, or a permit issued pursuant to the federal endangered species act.
(2) A person is guilty of unlawful taking of endangered fish or wildlife in the first degree if the person has been:
(a) Convicted under subsection (1) of this section or convicted of any crime under this title involving the taking, possessing, or malicious harassment of endangered fish or wildlife; and
(b) Within five years of the date of the prior conviction the person commits the act described by subsection (1) of this section.
(3)(a) Unlawful taking of endangered fish or wildlife in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor.
(b) Unlawful taking of endangered fish or wildlife in the first degree is a class C felony. The department shall revoke any licenses or tags used in connection with the crime and order the person's privileges to hunt, fish, trap, or obtain licenses under this title to be suspended for two years.

And here is another RCW which may come into play with any second conviction:


RCW 77.65.570
Suspension of charter boat, food fish guide, or game fish guide license—Appeal.
(1) In addition to other license suspension provisions provided in this title, the department may suspend a charter boat license, food fish guide license, or game fish guide license if, within a twelve-month period, a person is convicted of two or more violations of any rule of the commission or director regarding seasons, bag limits, species, size, sex, or other possession restrictions while engaged in charter boat, food fish guide, or game fish guide activities. The department may suspend only the specific type of license or licenses related to the activity or activities for which the person is convicted.
(2) A person who has a food fish guide or game fish guide license suspended under this section may file an appeal with the department pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW. An appeal must be filed within twenty days of notice of license suspension. If a timely appeal is filed, the suspension issued by the department does not take effect until twenty-one days after the department has delivered an opinion affirming the suspension. If no appeal is filed within twenty days of notice of license suspension, the right to an appeal is waived, and the suspension takes effect twenty-one days following the notice of suspension.
(3) License suspension under this section is in addition to any statutory penalties assigned to the underlying violation.

Moved to edit in above post.

Also on page 12 of the fishing regulation, right side catigory is Suspension and forfieture, Spelled out very clear there also.

So Larry, does that say a guy has to be a repeat offender to count as a "first degree" offense?

Caveat: I am not an attorney (my brother is - but not consulted for this - he charges too much).

If one is talking about State listed endangered wildlife my reading of the regs results in a YES to your question. Has to have a prior endangered wildlife conviction within the past 5 years (a misdemeanor) in order for the next conviction to be classified as a first degree (Class C felony) with resulting penalty.

That may be why the guide in question did not have his license suspended - no other endangered wildlife conviction within the past 5 years.

Edit: Note that for the Class C felony the word "shall" is used to direct revocation/suspension of license. However, I recall that elsewhere in the RCW there is language about appealing a suspension within 20 days of notification - administrative remedy if you will.

This guide wasn't quite so lucky in AK...

http://homernews.com/homer-news/local-ne...hing-violations

The two he pleaded to were reduced from misdemeanors to violations and they dropped 41 others and apparently at least one of the fines was reduced to $3k (first time offense).

Pretty "lucky" given the rather egregious nature of the multiple citations. Good lawyer?

Swanny was charged federally or those RCW's would have applied. The Feds took the case from the State which is likely why it took so long

The last ESA poaching case I heard about was on the Skagit. Seems the penalties are getting laxer.

...

Skagit chinook poacher pays state fines,
could also face federal ESA penalties

OLYMPIA - Enforcement officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have cited a Mount Vernon man for multiple fishing violations, including possessing wild chinook salmon, which are protected from harvest under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Melvin R. Kingma, 65, was cited Oct. 13 for illegal take and possession of seven wild chinook from the lower Skagit River. Kingma was observed fishing with multiple fishing poles, which is against state regulations.

In addition to the seven chinook, Kingma was also in possession of 18 coho salmon. He was cited for possessing more fish than the personal limit allowed. Kingma paid a total of $600 in state fines.

Kingma could also face federal penalties because the chinook salmon he possessed are listed as a threatened species under the ESA. Chinook have been off-limits to anglers in the Skagit since 1999.

A similar poaching incident occurred in 2001 when a Mount Vernon man was caught with a 40-pound chinook taken from the Skagit River. The man was fined $5,000 for violating the ESA, and his 16-foot custom-built fishing boat was seized.

The investigation into Kingma's activities was conducted by enforcement officers from WDFW and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE), and is an example of the ongoing joint enforcement efforts to protect fish species with federal ESA protection.

"Recreational anglers, commercial fishers and others have all made painful sacrifices over the years to reverse the downward spiral of weak salmon stocks, and Mr. Kingma's actions demonstrate a total disregard for those sacrifices," said WDFW Enforcement Chief Bruce Bjork. "Our ongoing partnership with NOAA OLE will help us protect fish and wildlife resources."

The ESA was passed by Congress in 1973 and is administered by NOAA OLE and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The act is designed to save species and their habitats when other efforts have failed. NOAA OLE is responsible for species that spend most of their lives in marine waters, including marine fish, salmon and most marine mammals.

Vicki Nomura, special agent in charge for the northwest region of NOAA Fisheries OLE, said the agency has appropriated more than $885,000 to WDFW for joint enforcement patrols over the next two years to protect and conserve marine resources.

"We will continue working with and through our state enforcement counterparts to prosecute serious actions taken by individuals and organizations that violate wildlife laws such as the Endangered Species Act," Nomura said.

Melvin R. Kingma, 65, was cited Oct. 13 for illegal take and possession of seven wild chinook from the lower Skagit River. Kingma was observed fishing with multiple fishing poles, which is against state regulations.

In addition to the seven chinook, Kingma was also in possession of 18 coho salmon. He was cited for possessing more fish than the personal limit allowed. Kingma paid a total of $600 in state fines.



Wow, Sure hurt him to poach..Probably got three times that for the eggs! Laughable!

The state and feds can put as many laws in the books as they want.
Without enforcing them they are nothing.
While I don't wish this individual hard times I do feel our laws should be upheld.

I DO wish the individual HARD TIMES! I wish all the law breaking, snagging, poaching as#wipes HARD TIMES!!

I'm tired of visiting our rivers and seeing blatant disregard for the laws, and then the weak, babysitting, bleeding hearts system "taking it easy" on them when they do get caught!!

Accountability my brothers!! We grew up with it! You wanna break the law? You get slammed! Lose your gear, lose your vehicle, lose your right to fish or hunt or dig a freaking clam forever! You get fined so much money that fishing licenses are free for the law abiding guys!

What I don't understand is why the clients did not get charged. The way I see it is those fish went home with someone. I don't care what kind of letter they wrote after the deed was done. Those guys should know the rules too. They work in the industry, and are fisherman. I just think itzs kind of fishy the way all this went down. How anyone could have their picture taken with fish with their adipose fin cut off then post it it...wtf ..everyone in the boat had to know when they saw those fish somethin messed up was going on. If I remember right one of those guys said they saw Swanny wacking the fins off. Heck I don't know what to believe but, you would think if they were innocent they would have reported it right away......not after it gets seen on facebook, and everyone is safe at home with the evidence tucked away, and have time to write a big statement to the public. THat was just running for cover imo. The second someone saw the fish with the fins cut off would have been the time to run. Tough spot to be in forsure..

It will be interes5ing to see how it plays out for Swanny. I don't think they should hang him like some. It was a stupid thing to do, and he admitted it. The feds might make a example out of him. I bet its cost him plenty already. I think it will be a while before he recovers from it.

There were 2 Bainbridge cops that got caught with a threatened king at kingston this summer. The boat owner was not charged but he knew the rules. His buddy killed the fish, and he was just let go with a slap on the hand. BUT...after a internal affairs investigation he ended up resigning so I would say it cost him dearly.

$7500 lesson and a tarnished reputation for the foreseeable future.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/art...on-10984732.php

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/art...on-10984732.php

That'll leave a mark. As it should.

"Swanny" has been doing this for at least a decade and those retards over at Gamefishin have known about it and laughed about it for years. He's one of the Blue Creek Good Old Boys.