An Ohio woman plead guilty to violating the Lacey Act for selling marbled crayfish (also known as self-cloning crayfish) in interstate commerce.
Marbled crayfish were recently declared an injurious aquatic invasive species under Ohio law.
“The Department of Justice is committed to preventing the spread of invasive species,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Marbled crayfish pose a unique threat to America’s freshwater ecosystems and the defendant’s sales had the potential to introduce this dangerous species throughout the country. Such conduct will be prosecuted and punished.”
According to court documents, Allison Spaulding, 46, knowingly sold marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis, in interstate commerce in violation of Ohio law.
The marbled crayfish is considered a serious threat to aquatic biodiversity because of its high reproductive rate and the need for only one individual to start a population.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife added the marbled crayfish to the injurious aquatic invasive species list for Ohio in January 2020, officials stated.
Between August 2020 and June 2021, Spaulding sold marbled crayfish in 96 different transactions to buyers in 36 states for approximately $2,812.
Spaulding pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act violation, sentencing has not been scheduled yet. Spaulding faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Crimes Section, and Ohio Assistant Attorney General Sally Smetzer Montell are prosecuting the case.