Case library · The Poacher's Docket
Fourteen Thousand Pounds Over
United States v. Cameron (1989)
Charge: Lacey Act / over-limit halibutCourt: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th CircuitState: AlaskaDocket: The Poacher's Docket
Can a fisherman be prosecuted for wildlife trafficking over a catch limit set by an international commission, not by Congress?
The facts
During a short commercial opening a fisherman landed nine hundred and sixty-one halibut, weighing more than thirty-four thousand pounds. The trip limit for that opening was twenty thousand pounds. He sold the fish for over fifty thousand dollars. The limit had been set not by Congress but by an international commission, and the statute standing behind that commission provided for civil fines and nothing more.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Cameron, 888 F.2d 1279 (9th Cir. 1989)
Read more at animallaw.info. The source reveals the outcome.