Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

March 26, 2018

Contact: Capt. Jeff Wickersham, 360-906-6714

Tribal fisherman sentenced for selling sturgeon and salmon

RIDGEFIELD – A Klickitat County Superior Court judge has sentenced a Columbia River tribal fisherman to four months in jail and fined him $1,050 for illegally selling sturgeon and chinook salmon, concluding a case sparked by a tip to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Donnell Frank, 46, of Portland, Ore., pleaded guilty to three felony counts of unlawful fish trafficking and was sentenced March 19 by Judge Randall Krog.

WDFW Capt. Paul Golden, who heads the department's statewide investigative unit, said the case began in the spring of 2015, when officers received a tip that one of Frank's associates was illegally trafficking fish and wildlife.

WDFW Capt. Jeff Wickersham, who heads the department's southwest Washington enforcement office, said the investigation revealed that Frank illegally sold two wild chinook salmon and five sturgeon, including one that was less than legal size.

Wickersham said Frank caught all of the fish during tribal subsistence fisheries, when commercial sales were prohibited. He said Frank made multiple sales of up to $500 per transaction during 2015 and 2016, primarily out of the back of his vehicle in Goldendale.

Columbia River fisheries are highly regulated to ensure conservation and resource sharing objectives are met, Wickersham said. Populations of harvestable-size sturgeon between Bonneville and McNary dams – the stretch of river where Frank caught the fish – have generally declined in recent years, and both hatchery and federally protected salmon and steelhead are present in that area.

"Salmon and sturgeon have significant economic and cultural importance to people and communities throughout the state," Wickersham said. "Black-market activities like these tend to increase poaching and undermine efforts to recover endangered stocks

As I recall, WDFW routinely routes cases against Tribal members to the Tribe and their courts. Like the Tulalip case of shellfish poaching. Why did this go to to a County Court??

Three felony counts equals four months in jail and $1000 in fines? Sure beats robbing banks. Multiply those numbers by 10, and maybe a few less of these jerks will decide to get into the fish trafficking business.

That river is going to be hurting for a while.
Literally almost nothing got past the nets this past fall, including most of the native summer steel.

Hats off to WDFW Cpt. Wickersham and his crew for this case. There's a lot of work to put a felony case together. Enforcement continues to shine (in most instances) where salmon management continues its dull descent to nowhere.

The sentencing was up to the judge and the outlines of the statute.

But why was this one sent to the County? WDFW changing the way it enforces tribal violations?

It is very likely that the tribe declined to take the case and asked the county to prosecute. They may be just as ticked off at him and felt it was better to let the state handle it then to allow Tribal politics rule the day. What he did does not reflect good on the tribe or on subsistence fishing.

"He said Frank made multiple sales of up to $500 per transaction during 2015 and 2016, primarily out of the back of his vehicle in Goldendale."

"A Klickitat County Superior Court judge has sentenced a Columbia River tribal fisherman to four months in jail and fined him $1,050 for illegally selling sturgeon and chinook salmon,"

lol

If "multiple" is more than two, then someone needs a math lesson.

Or......(since we are speculating) he has been apprehended previously and his "case" was turned over to the tribe and there was no action and this is a repeat or repeat repeat violation.

Now, as to the huge Tulalip and Lummi crab cases those should have been prosecuted by the Feds under the Lacey Act.

Clearly fish and wildlife crimes pay in Washington. Combined with lax enforcement, seems like a great play for a criminal to move and set up shop.