Dozens of state Fish and Wildlife officers fanned out to seafood retailers, wholesalers and exporters late last week. It was a coordinated West Coast sweep. The cops were looking for mislabeled fish, poached product and banned seafood. Correspondent Tom Banse reports if you're a fish consumer, the results are mostly encouraging.
Fisheries officers in Oregon, Washington and California say they planned this emphasis to send a deterrence message… especially towards poachers or unscrupulous dealers who might get the idea to launder illegally caught seafood by crossing state lines. Washington State Fish and Wildlife police sergeant Erik Olson was also on the lookout for shark fins. All three West Coast states banned trade in the Asian delicacy last year as a conservation measure.
Olson: "Only two markets had any type of shark fin. I was pretty impressed with that on the whole. Just percentage wise that's pretty good."
Oregon State Police Lt. David Anderson says his troopers found no shark fin violations in Oregon.
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