Trio settles claims of illegal fishing and false advertising at Venice-based Dudley Market

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Three people settled claims related to illegal sport fishing and false advertising after selling fish caught in marine protected areas off the coast of Santa Barbara Island.

In 2020 and 2021, Conner Mitchell, Taylor Grant, and Cody Martin engaged in illegal fishing practices, including hauling in fish from the Marine Protected Areas off the coast of Santa Barbara Island stated a press release from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Mitchell and Grant later sold their catches at Dudley Market, a high-end restaurant in Venice, California owned by Mitchell, and falsely advertised the fish as traceable, sustainable, and lawfully sourced detailed the local prosecutor's office.

Cody Martin of El Segundo operated the commercial fishing vessel Predator on behalf of Mitchell and Grant and supplied fish to Dudley Market as well noted the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Wildlife officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife served search warrants on cellular devices belonging to Mitchell and Martin as well as the chart plotter aboard Predator and found evidence of repeated violations of commercial fishing and seafood industry laws explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

California law prohibits sport-caught fish from being sold commercially and fish taken by a commercial vessel must be documented on an electronic fish ticket before being removed from the vessel so that state authorities can effectively manage fisheries and monitor long-term sustainability shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office noted that the following violations were documented during its investigation including:

• Purchasing, possessing, and selling unlawfully sport-caught fish, including rockfish, bluefin tuna, and yellowtail
• Conducting commercial fishing without the required commercial fishing and fish business licenses
• Failing to lawfully document federally-managed species including rockfish and bluefin tuna
• Harvesting rockfish within restricted conservation areas and Marine Protected Areas
• Advertising unlawfully sourced fish as sustainable, traceable, and lawfully porcured

Per the settlement agreements, each defendant is subject to additional oversight conditions, new financial penalties should more violations occur, and agreed to the following payments:

Conner Mitchell, Dudley Street Oyster Bar LLC, and Shark Bite Fish Co. LLC were ordered to pay:

• $58,226 in civil penalites
• $45,000 in stayed civil penalties, payable if the injunction is violated
• $15,000 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fish and Game Preservation Fund
• $1,773 in court fees

Taylor Grant was ordered to pay:

• $40,000 in civil penalties
• $10,000 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fish and Game Preservation Fund
• Prohibited from commercial fishing in California

Gilmer Grant, owner of fishing vessel Jamaica Day which violated fishing laws in 2020, was ordered to pay:

• $10,000 in civil penalties
• $5,000 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fish and Game Preservation Fund
• Prohibited from owning or operating a commercial fishing vessel in California

Cody Martin was ordered to pay:

• $8,000 in civil penalties
• $100,000 in stayed civil penalties, payable if the injunction is violated
• $2,000 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Fish and Game Preservation Fund
• Prohibited from obtaining a commercial fishing license in California

"Violating fishing regulations that are intended to preserve Marine Protected Areas threatens the environment and the fishing industry that depends on sustainable fish stocks in the future," Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch stated. "I am proud that my office was able to work with CDFW [California Department of Fish and Wildlife] to protect these valuable resources."