Washington fishing guide pleads guilty to keeping wild coho
FISHING – A longtime Washington state fishing guide has pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge that he violated the Endangered Species Act by helping clients keep a pair of wild coho salmon, the Associated Press reports. Photos of the fish posted on social media led to charges that could result in fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
Billy Swann, who runs Rainier-based Swanny’s Guided Fishing, took three clients out on the Cowlitz River in October 2014. He clubbed two wild coho they caught, then sliced off their adipose fins – as hatcheries do with young salmon to distinguish them from wild fish – and told his clients to mark the fish as hatchery on their state catch-record cards.
People who saw images of the fish on social media reported them to authorities.
Swann pleaded guilty Wednesday in Tacoma. His attorney said Swann made a mistake about what the regulations on the Cowlitz were.
Swann is expected to face a fine of $5,000 to $10,000 but no jail time when he’s sentenced in March.
