Poaching bust Leech/Red lakes

[Lee Borgersen]

  10 charged in fish poaching bust on Leech, Red lakes

April 11, 2013



Ten people have been indicted on charges of commercially poaching "hundreds of thousands of dollars" worth of walleye and other fish on the Leech Lake and Red Lake Indian reservations, federal officials said Wednesday, April 10.

According to four indictments, fish were netted on Leech and Red lakes for the purpose of selling them -- at least some potentially to restaurants. The indictment alleges illegal activities date back to 2009.

Some of the fish allegedly were netted on Lake Winnibigoshish, a tribal attorney said.

Leech, Upper and Lower Red, and "Winnie" are on the short list of the state's greatest walleye lakes. The indictments come after years of speculation concerning black-market commercial walleye operations on the reservations.

The news is sure to inflame lingering resentment over tribal netting among sport anglers.

Leech and Red lakes also saw walleye populations plummet within the past decade. Both have recovered, but only after taxpayer-funded stocking and, in the case of Red, a complete closure of walleye fishing for several years. Today, walleye on Lake Mille Lacs appear to be declining, and tribal netting is suspected to be partly to blame.

Treaties and agreements with the state allow members of the Red Lake Nation and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, as well as other tribes, to net fish for subsistence but not to sell.

The probe into the alleged black market, referred to as "Squarehook" in a federal document, began in 2009. The

 investigation featured undercover purchases of fish and involved officers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Leech Lake Division of Resource Management, and the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources.
Investigators also seized fish in several raids.

"Authorities estimate the fair market value of the fish illegally obtained through the activity covered by these four indictments to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars," the U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis said in a statement Wednesday.

In July 2011, federal authorities told the Pioneer Press they had completed a "takedown" of a suspected "significant operation" to illegally sell netted walleye on two reservations in northern Minnesota. Officials could not be reached to confirm that action was connected to Wednesday's indictments.

Each of the 10 people has been charged with one count of transportation, sale and purchase of fish taken in violation of the Lacey Act, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Under the Lacey Act, it's a crime to violate Native American tribal law. Tribal law was violated, alleges Lenny Fineday, legal director for the Leech Lake Band.

"The netting itself was not illegal," Fineday said Wednesday. "What was illegal was the selling. We will be prosecuting in tribal court to the fullest extent of tribal law."

A violation could carry a fine and revocation of rights to hunt, fish and gather on the reservation, he said.

Officials with the Red Lake Nation could not be reached for comment.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, those charged are Larry W. Bellefy, 53, of Bagley; Thomas P. Sumner, 54, Brian W. Holthusen, 47, and Larry Good, all of Red Lake; Michael D. Brown, 54, no known address; Michael J. Nei, 48, of Bemidji; Jerry A. Reyes, 51, of Cass Lake; and Marc L. Lyons, 61, Frederick W. Tibbetts, 61, and Alan D. Hemme, 55, all of Bena, where Hemme owns a restaurant.

[fishnutbob]

 

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/12/02/large-fish-kill-discovered-near-leech-lake/

[fishnutbob]

Another 21 nabbed in fish-poaching probe in northern Minnesota. Trib reporting this morning

http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=202443861&c=y

State and tribal officials will reveal more this morning about their three-year investigation into a widespread scheme to sell and buy game fish illegally in northern Minnesota. Ten people already have been indicted and 21 more will face charges. Updated 11 minutes ago

[Lee Borgersen]

Illegal selling and purchasing of fish is a "cultural norm" in some parts of the state.

With investigations like this, that target the purchaser as well as the supplier, hope to change that culture. Until people stop buying illegal fish, the suppliers will continue to catch and sell them.