Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Mississippi
Two Tennessee men were sentenced to a total of $10,550 in fines and restitution for the illegal harvest of crappie from the Enid Lake Spillway.
According to court documents, Jian Wu Huang, age 50, and Qiu M Huang, age 44, both of Lakeland, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to one count of taking more than the daily bag limit of crappie from the Enid Lake Spillway on January 1. While fishing together, the two men caught a total of 171 crappie, which is 141 more fish than the allowed creel limit of 15 crappie each. The men were also using over-sized hooks and in excess of the maximum number of hooks allowed per line.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David A. Sanders ordered each defendant to pay a fine of $1,000 as well as restitution to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks in the amount of $4,275. In addition to the fine and restitution, each defendant was placed on probation for a period of one year, during which time each defendant will be prohibited from fishing anywhere in the world and banned from all Corps of Engineers property in the Northern District of Mississippi as a condition of their probation.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark stated, “We are committed to working collaboratively with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The illegal take and interstate transport of a state trust species is a violation of federal law and will be investigated and prosecuted. We will continue to work closely with our state partners to conduct these criminal investigations.”
MDWFP Colonel Jerry Carter remarked, “We appreciate the collaborative investigative efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and prosecution of this case by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We will continue to work with our federal partners to conserve and protect Mississippi’s natural resources by utilizing all investigative tools available to ensure that those who choose to violate the laws of this state are investigated and prosecuted accordingly.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Robert Mims.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service encourages members of the public to report allegations of wildlife crimes to the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement via the Wildlife Crime Tips page at https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips or via phone at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477).
