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Tribal Fisherman gets Jail Time after Selling Columbia River Fish by Annette Cary Yakima Herald, March 27, 2018

GOLDENDALE, Wash. -- A Columbia River tribal fisherman has been sentenced to jail for selling sturgeon and salmon at times when commercial sales were prohibited.

Donnell Frank, 46, of Portland, illegally sold the fish in 2015 and 2016 for up to $500 per transaction, primarily out of the back of his car, according to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The fish were caught between the Bonneville and McNary dams and sold in Goldendale.

Frank, who pleaded guilty to three felony counts of fish trafficking, was sentenced in Klickitat County Superior Court to four months in jail and fined $1,050.

Fish and Wildlife officials said they received a tip in spring 2015, and an investigation found that Frank illegally sold two wild chinook salmon and five sturgeon, including one that was less than legal size.

Columbia River fisheries are regulated to ensure conservation and resource sharing objectives are met, said Fish and Wildlife Capt. Jeff Wickersham of the Southwest Washington enforcement office.

Sturgeon large enough to harvest in the stretch of the Columbia River between the Bonneville and McNary dams have generally declined in recent years, Wickersham said.