Yates v. United States

Facts

Defendant was a commercial fisherman of the Miss Katie vessel who, while in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, caught undersized red grouper. On August 23, 2007, Officer John Jones boarded the Miss Katie vessel to check its fishing rules compliance. While onboard, Jones noticed three undersized red grouper hanging on the deck. Federal law required, at the time, to release any red grouper that was less than 20 inches long. Jones found 72 total fish that were less than 20 inches long. Jones ordered Defendant to keep the undersized red grouper separate from the rest of the catch until the Miss Katie returned to port. Before returning to port, Defendant ordered a crew member to throw the undersized red grouper back into the Gulf of Mexico and replace them with the rest of the catch. Upon returning to port, Jones found the undersized red grouper he had previously measured to be slightly longer.

Defendant was indicted and convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. §1519 and §2232(a). By the time of the indictment, the federal law had changed its minimum legal length for retaining red grouper to 18 inches. No measured fish in Defendant’s catch was less than 18 inches.