Ocean Springs man pleads guilty to severing endangered species: USDOJ

GULFPORT, Miss. ( WKRG ) — An Ocean Springs man pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act when he severed the rostrum of a smalltooth sawfish, according to the United States Department of Justice.

The smalltooth sawfish is an endangered species.

According to a USDOJ news release, 62-year-old Hong Thanh Hguyen pled guilty in the U.S. District Court in Gulfport and was sentenced to one year of probation.

Nguyen severed the rostrum of a smalltooth sawfish while on board a shrimp boat off the Florida Keys in February 2022.

Court documents show he was on a commercial vessel, the Miss Theresa, near Key West in Monroe County, Florida, when the smalltooth sawfish was entangled in the boat’s fishing net.

“Nguyen severed the rostrum of the sawfish from its body with a knife, which he knew to be unlawful,” the USDOJ release said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, part of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, investigated the case.

The USDOJ release said U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gaines Cleveland prosecuted the case.

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