SC boat owner may face prison for catching too many fish, then concealing it, feds say

A South Carolina fisherman has been indicted by a federal grand jury after authorities say he exceeded the number of fish he was legally allowed to catch, then attempted to conceal his actions.

One count in the indictment charges Don Michael Rynn with submitting a trip report with a lower number of fish than he actually caught to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

Another count charges him with lying to a federal agent, falsely telling the agent that various fish he caught were contaminated with oil and he disposed of them by putting them in a dumpster.

The fish were snowy grouper and tilefish, according to the indictment. Both fish are regarded as tasty and good to eat.

But there are limits on how many of these fish that commercial anglers are allowed to catch, and authorities want to prevent overfishing. Enforcement of fishing laws is considered vital to protecting species from being depleted.

The indictment did not say how many fish Rynn allegedly caught, and how many he was allowed to catch.

Winston Holliday, an assistant U.S. attorney in Columbia who is assigned to the case as a prosecutor, said he could not comment.

The penalty for violating the law in this case is a maximum $10,000 fine or five-year prison sentence, or both.

A third count charges him with falsifying records in a federal investigation. Maximum punishment in this case is a fine up to $250,000 and 20 years in prison.

An initial hearing in the case has been set for Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker.

Rynn, who has operated a fishing vessel out of McClellanville north of Charleston, is a member of the McClellanville Watermen organization, a group of commercial fisherman. Rynn does not have an attorney yet, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Efforts to reach Rynn were not immediately successful.

McClellanville is a tiny village in a rural area between Georgetown and Charleston that is known for fishing, supplying many fish and shrimp that people buy in coastal markets.

Tilefish and snowy grouper, fish that live near reefs, are relatively long-lived species whose populations can take years to recover if they are overfished.

Federal Judge Richard Gergel is handling the case.