Richard Michael Collier Jr., who owns P.J.’s Seafood, entered his plea in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. The 1900 conservation law regulates fish, wildlife and plants. He admitted the market value of the fish sold across state lines from May 2019 to April 2022 was between $250,000 and $550,000.
Collier’s written plea agreement indicates that the conspiracy involved redfish and speckled trout caught in Alabama and Mississippi in violation of those states’ laws. Agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Alabama Marine Police conducted surveillance on the P.J.’s Seafood loading area to monitor fish sales. According to court records, they found speckled trout and redfish hidden in compartments and then sold to Collier, according to the plea agreement. The surveillance also indicated that some of the boats had gill nets, which ae banned in Alabama for harvesting game fish.