NEWS RELEASE

KAREN L. LOEFFLER
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DISTRICT OF ALASKA
James M. Fitzgerald United States Courthouse & Federal Building
222 W. 7th Avenue $ Room 253 $ Anchorage, AK 99513-7567 $ (907) 271-5071

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Contact: Jack S. Schmidt

Assistant U.S. Attorney
907-271-5071

KETCHIKAN RESIDENTS GUILTY OF SCHEME TO ILLEGALLY

FISH AND SELL HALIBUT
Anchorage, Alaska U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that on December 8, 2015,
Michael Anthony Welker, 52, Shane Christopher Widmyer, 34, David Alan Vest, 39, all residents of
Ketchikan, Alaska, pled guilty in federal court in Juneau to violating the Lacey Act by illegally
transporting halibut that was caught for subsistence and sport purposes.
Each defendant pled guilty to a single count of a Lacey Act violation before United States
Magistrate Judge Leslie Longenbaugh.
According to the information presented to the court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt,
who prosecuted the case, Donald Ray Thornlow, 66, the former owner and operator of the former
Narrows Inn and Restaurant in Ketchikan, Alaska, took part in a continuing scheme of knowingly
purchasing subsistence and sport caught halibut for resale in his restaurant, a violation of federal
regulations. Defendants Welker, Widmyer, and Vest illegally harvested halibut for a commercial purpose
using sport fishing licenses and subsistence halibut permits. The defendants subsequently transported the
illegally caught halibut and sold it to Thornlow who then sold the fish in his restaurant. The defendants
were not allowed to catch halibut for a commercial purpose because none of the defendants possessed a
valid Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) permit. The defendants each admitted to transporting a portion of
the 997 pounds of illegally-caught halibut sold by Thornlow in his restaurant from January 2012 to
December 2013. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Vest will pay a $5,000 fine, Welker and
Widmyer will pay a $3,500 fine and all defendants will be sentenced to a term of probation for three
years. Thornlow was previously sentenced to a one year term of probation starting on October 19, 2015,
and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
Prior to imposing the sentences, Magistrate Judge Longenbaugh indicated the seriousness of the
offense and the need to deter the defendants and others, as well as the need to protect Alaska fishery
resources.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement, Alaska
Enforcement Division conducted the investigation leading to the charges and conviction in this case.
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usao/ak/15-116
Prepared by: Chloe Martin, 907-271-5071, USAAK.PressRelease@usdoj.gov