A New Jersey Captain and seafood dealer have been sentenced in federal court after NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement uncovered what officials described as a lucrative scheme to illegally harvest and sell excess scallops.
The case began in April 2021, when enforcement officers boarded the captain’s vessel and discovered scallops concealed in a hidden compartment– an initial finding that would lead to a four-year investigation involving NOAA special agents and officers, with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
According to NOAA Fisheries, the investigation determined that the New Jersey-based commercial clam vessel fisherman sold thousands of pounds of illegal scallops to a local dealer. Both the captain and dealer later confessed to the violations.
Because of the high price of scallops, officials said the defendants made “substantial profits from the illicit operation.”
Clam vessels are permitted to retain only limited amounts of scallops as bycatch. However, investigators found that the fishermen routinely exceeded those limits from Oct. 2017 through April 2021, selling the surplus catch to the dealer.
To avoid detection, the captain and dealer worked together to falsify required fishing vessel trip reports and dealer reports– documents typically submitted independently and used by NOAA Fisheries as a cross-check to ensure compliance and data accuracy.
The captain was sentenced on Aug. 4, 2025, to a $10,000 fine, six months of home confinement, and a two-year term of probation. He has also been prohibited from holding a NOAA Fisheries Operator Permit or commercial fishing permit and from completing any fishing vessel trip reports.
The dealer was sentenced earlier, on April 22, 2025, to a $4000 fine and two years of probation. NOAA officials emphasized the broader impact of the case on the fishing industry.
“Our industry members depend on us to help them compete fairly in a challenging environment,” said Northeast Division acting Assistant Director James Cassin. “Thanks to the persistent efforts of our agents and officers, we stopped offenders from causing harm to our competitive markets and our law-abiding domestic commercial fishermen.”
NOAA Fisheries noted that violations like these create an unfair competitive advantage and said enforcement efforts remain focused on ensuring all laws and regulations are followed.
