Wholesaler Pleads Guilty In Rockfish Case

A St. Mary's County fish wholesaler who authorities say is at the heart of the largest striped-bass poaching case in Chesapeake Bay history pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to falsifying Maryland catch reports and interstate trafficking in illegal fish.

Robert Lumpkins, owner of Golden Eye Seafood in Piney Point, admitted that from 2003 to 2007, while acting as a commercial check station for the state Department of Natural Resources, he and his employees falsely recorded the amount of striped bass, or rockfish, that fishermen caught. Golden Eye bought oversized striped bass caught in Virginia waters for sale out of state, according to court documents.

Lumpkins faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the four counts. The maximum penalty for Golden Eye is a $500,000 fine. A judge could also order restitution. So far, a five-year sting operation by state and federal authorities has resulted in the sentencing of six men for a total of 45 months in prison.