Father & Daughter Plead Guilty to Clam Smuggling

HAWAII, Honolulu (March 2, 2014) A Micronesian man and his daughter pleaded guilty to illegally importing giant clam meat from Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia to Hawaii.

The 52 year old man and his 22-year-old daughter entered Hawaii in February 2013 with a cooler of giant clam meat in which they did not declare nor did they have permission from the FSM government to export. The clam meat was intended to be distributed to supporters for the upcoming election.

Eight of the nine giant clam species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals. Under the Endangered Species Act, a person who trades or keeps endangered animals can be fined up to $5,000, or jailed up to a year, or both.

The two suspects could serve a year in prison following their sentencing in June.

Sources:
1. “Man, woman plead guilty in smuggling of clam meat”. http://www.staradvertiser.com/s?action=login&f=y&id=247995731.
2. United States Coral Reef Task Force: “International Trade in Coral and Coral Reef Species". http://www.fws.gov/coralreef/trade.cfm.
3. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22137/0.
4. Council Regulation on “the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein”. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1997R0338:20080411:EN:PDF.