GULFPORT, Miss. ( WJTV ) – An Ocean Springs man pled guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act by severing the rostrum of a smalltooth sawfish, which is an endangered species, while on board a shrimp boat off the Florida Keys.

Hong Thanh Nguyen, 62, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Gulfport and was sentenced to one year of probation. Prosecutors said Nguyen’s guilty plea followed the transfer of the charge filed in the Southern District of Florida to the Southern District of Mississippi.

According to court documents, Nguyen was aboard a commercial vessel, the Miss Theresa , near Key West in February 2022 when the smalltooth sawfish became entangled in the boat’s fishing net. Prosecutors said Nguyen severed the rostrum of the sawfish from its body with a knife, which he knew to be unlawful.

The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement, which is part of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

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