Nine members of the region’s herring fishing industry, including fishermen and seafood dealers, have been sentenced to probation in connection to a scheme to subvert commercial fishing requirements by underreporting their catch of the fish commonly used for lobster bait.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said that over three years, crew members of the Western Sea – a seiner that sailed out of Rockland – submitted false reports to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency charged with regulating commercial fishing. The crew is accused of exceeding the herring catch limits set by NOAA and underreporting its landings, or catches, on required fishing vessel trip report forms.

The fishing vessel Western Sea, shown docked at the Rockland Fish Pier, was used to catch herring that was underreported, prosecutors say. Stephen Betts/The Courier-Gazette

The company also is accused of selling the unreported fish in exchange for cash or check and concealing the amount made from the sales on tax forms.

Western Sea captain Glenn Robbins, 77, was sentenced to two years of probation and will have to pay a $25,000 fine. The Eliot fisherman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit false information to the secretary of commerce and failure to pay taxes back in March.

Over the past week, four other Western Sea crew members were sentenced in connection with the false reporting scheme. Also sentenced were Jason Parent, 51, of Owls Head; Stephen Little, 59, of Warren; Neil Herrick, 48, of Rockland; and Ethan Chase, 46, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Each of the men pleaded guilty to the charges. Their sentences all include two years of probation and various community service and fine requirements.

Andrew Banow, 37, a crew member from Rockport, was sentenced in April to one year of probation on the same charges.

In addition to the fishermen, three seafood dealers were implicated in the scheme and sentenced in April and May for illegally buying fish.

Glenn Lawrence, owner of fishing and transport vessel the Double Edge; Duston Reed, owner of New Moon Fisheries; and Samuel Olsen, owner of Sam’s Seafood, each pleaded guilty and were sentenced for unlawfully purchasing fish and aiding and abetting. They all received probation and were ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines.

The Maine Marine Patrol witnessed the Western Sea transferring herring to the Double Eagle at the Rockland Fish Pier, which Lawrence then sold to a dealer, according to court documents.

“Atlantic herring is a vital resource in Maine, particularly to the thousands of people involved in the lobster industry in the state,” U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said in a prepared statement. “Led by Glenn Robbins and Western Sea, the defendants in this case subverted regulations for the sole purpose of lining their own wallets – regulations that are in place to ensure Atlantic herring are not overfished and are available for future generations of fishermen, and safeguard the viability of the marine ecosystem.”

Maine’s $464 million-a-year lobster industry is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in herring availability.

In 2019, when the fishermen were originally charged, the New England Fishery Management Council set the herring quota at 32.1 million pounds – about 78 million pounds below the 2018 quota – to help rebuild the stock.