One of the biggest black market fish cases in Maryland history -- becoming known as the Potomac River bass burglary -- was cracked with the help of tiny tracking devices hidden inside the fish.
Prosecutors and investigators, who followed the trail of the bass from Toronto to Georgia, say the case involves the alleged sale of more than 40,000 pounds of largemouth bass caught in the Potomac from 1990 to 1993.
Telltale tags three-eighths of an inch long, called passive integrated transponders, were placed under the skin of more than 3,000 wild largemouth bass in the Potomac as part of a Maryland Department of Natural Resources study to track their growth and movement.
The cylindrical tags, made of metal and other materials, emit radio signals to a hand-held box, identifying a specific fish and when and where it was tagged.
According to the court documents and interviews, bass from the Potomac stored in fish farm ponds were identified by their radio signals. The tags became an unintended -- and important -- crime-solving tool. Fish in the ponds were tested by DNR agents to see if they set off the hand-held box. They did, so agents knew that Potomac bass were being held in the ponds.
"It was was the coup de grace on these guys," said Ken Penrod, an author and bass-fishing guide well-known among anglers and environmentalists for his interest in Potomac River issues.
"There's a lot of people in the country watching this case right now," said Mr. Penrod, who wrote "The Tidal Potomac River Fishing Bible." He and other sportfishermen have circulated petitions in the past year to prod the government to prosecute the case.
The bass were kept in fish farm ponds operated by Dennis Patrick Woodruff, 47, of of Bryans Road in Charles County, authorities said. They were allegedly to be shipped to wholesalers, who, in turn, would sell the bass mainly to Asian markets and restaurants in North America.
Mr. Woodruff has been charged with nine counts under the Lacey Act, a federal law prohibiting the interstate sale of protected wildlife, and with conspiracy.
Also charged last week were Walter I. Maddox, 61, of Marbury in Charles County; Robert T. Brown Sr., 44, of Avenue in St. Mary's County; and Alfred B. Grinder, 42, also of Marbury.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"They are very serious charges," said C. Thomas Brown, a Baltimore lawyer representing Mr. Woodruff. "We intend to vigorously defend the charges."
One of the watermen, Mr. Maddox, denied supplying wild largemouth bass to Mr. Woodruff, as alleged. "It's a drummed-up thing for some reason," he said.
Mr. Brown could not be reached for comment. An attorney for Mr. Grinder declined to comment.
The men made a profit of more than $150,000, prosecutors said.
"The Asian market for live bass is a very big market," said Jane F. Barrett, one of two federal prosecutors handling the case.
Prosecutors, fish dealers and others said Asian customers demand the freshest fish available, sometimes wanting to pick out live fish from a market tank.
Largemouth bass are considered good eating and easily survive long-distance shipment, they said.
The Potomac, below Washington, is known as one of the best bass-fishing rivers in North America.
Bass fishing means big money, too. Prizes in tournaments on the Potomac and elsewhere can reach $50,000 or more. Many recreational fishermen follow the custom of catch-and-release, where the sport is in the catching, not the killing.
"We can no longer tolerate illegal exploitation," said Mike Hayden, a former Kansas governor and Bush administration official who heads the American Sportfishing Association, a trade group based in Washington. "It is very important that all the legal avenues be pursued to bring these people to justice."
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Mr. Hayden's group, sportfishing means $275 million to the Maryland economy. Largemouth bass are the most sought-after freshwater fish.
It is legal to raise and sell largemouth bass on fish farms. But largemouth bass have been designated a "game" species in Maryland and many other states because they cannot withstand large-scale commercial fishing. A game species cannot legally be caught and sold.
Maryland authorities say they learned of the alleged conspiracy involving the Southern Maryland men in early 1993.
A conservation officer for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in Canada noticed a 3,000-pound load of live bass passing through a customs station at Niagara Falls, N.Y., bound for Toronto.
The fish varied in size from less than a pound to 5 pounds and were dark in color, according to court records. Farm-raised largemouth bass usually weigh a pound or less and are light or white in color.
Canadian authorities learned that a Michigan company was hauling the fish. The shipment was accompanied by a copy of Mr. Woodruff's Maryland fish farm permit, according to court records.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources contacted its Maryland counterpart, whose investigators then discovered the tagged wild bass. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was brought into the case.
The investigation eventually led authorities to the Ohio offices of a seafood wholesaler, and to New York and Georgia, where some of the fish allegedly were sold. The investigation is continuing, prosecutors said.
Federal wildlife officials and prosecutors acknowledge that such cases can be difficult to prove and expensive to pursue, costing as much as $20,000 to investigate.
In this case, prosecutors must prove that the defendants knew that taking the fish was illegal and knew that shipping them across state lines was illegal. And judges have not always been willing to impose the harsh penalties contained in wildlife laws.
"There have been many cases in the past that have been swept under the rug," Mr. Hayden said.
Anglers say they will not rest until justice is done in what has become known as the Potomac River bass burglary.
When the case comes to trial, said Mr. Penrod, "We're going to be sure that the courtrooms are loaded with fishermen."
TRAIL OF THE FISH
Federal prosecutors say four Southern Maryland men engaged in a conspiracy between 1990 and 1993 to take more than 40,000 pounds of live largemouth bass, worth more than $150,000, from the Potomac River and its tributaries and sell them illegally to seafood wholesalers from Georgia to Toronto. The prosecutors say the fish ended up in seafood markets and restaurants catering to Asian populations.
1. Three fishermen and a fish farmer, Dennis Patrick Woodruff, allegedly conspire to take wild bass and sell them illegally from aquaculture ponds.
2. In February 1993, conservation officer for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources suspects bass hauled through customs at Niagara Falls by a Michigan company may be wild.
3. Natural resource officials alert Maryland Department of Natural Resources to the shipment of bass, originally from Mr. Woodruff's fish farm, that had been transported by a Michigan company to Toronto, Canada.
4. Investigators obtain records from a wholesale operation that ships live fish. Investigators say Blair's Live Fish Co. shipped some wild bass from its operation based in Luna Pier, Mich., into Canada.
5. Georgia and New York: Federal prosecutors say some wild bass from Woodruff's farm were sold to wholesalers in these states, who in turn also supplied Asian customers.
Sources: U.S. attorney for Maryland, court documents