August 27, 2016 - 9:19 AM
PORTLAND, Maine - A New England seafood company has pleaded guilty to illegally importing sea urchins from Canada in violation of federal wildlife trading laws.
ISF Trading Company specializes in buying, processing and selling sea urchins from Maine and Canada. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Maine says the Portland-based ISF falsely labeled sea urchins it was purchasing from a Canadian company that was not authorized to export goods to the U.S.
The company imported roughly 48,000 pounds of sea urchins under the scheme between 2010 and 2011. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the guilty plea Friday. ISF faces up to five years of probation and $1.25 million in fines and forfeitures.
ISF calls itself "the pioneer" of the East Coast sea urchin industry on its website and lists annual sales of $2 million.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016