The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) reported the Colusa County Superior Court sentenced a Placer County man May 21 to two years in jail for commercializing state wildlife. According to the DFW, Justin D. Lewis conspired to commercialize Pacific lamprey, a jawless fish that is usually sourced commercially from Alaska and highly regarded as bait for sturgeon and other fish. The DFW also noted lamprey have significant food and cultural significance to Yurok tribal members in Del Norte County and other tribal communities in the area. Lewis sourced the fish from the Klamath River in Del Norte County and resold through co-conspirators in Colusa County and elsewhere, DFW confirmed. “Because of a temporary downturn in the bait market, Lewis and others created an illegal commercial market for California lamprey,” the DFW stated.

Related article:

• California Statewide Law Enforcement Association: News release: Placer County man sentenced for illegally selling Pacific lamprey