Five fishermen accused of a multi-year scheme to sell unreported Atlantic herring and falsify fishing records pleaded guilty to lesser offenses as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

The plea agreements call for a maximum sentence of a year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and up to one year of supervised release. The defendants could end up with no jail time. No sentencing date has been scheduled.

Fifty-nine counts against the five defendants were dismissed in exchange for pleas on lesser charges.

The trial began last week in U.S. District Court in Portland and was expected to last nine days.

The fishing vessel Western Sea, shown docked at the Rockland Fish Pier, was used to catch herring over and above the legal limit. Stephen Betts/The Courier-Gazette

The five defendants who accepted the plea deal were Glenn Robbins, 76, of Eliot; Ethan Chase, 46, of Portsmouth, N.H.; Neil Herrick, 48, of Rockland; Stephen Little, 58, of Warren; and Jason Parent, 51, of Owls Head; and Western Sea Inc.

Robbins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit false information to the U.S. secretary of commerce concerning the catch and sale of Atlantic herring, and willfully delivering false information to the secretary of the treasury.

Chase, Herrick, Little and Parent all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit false information to the commerce secretary, and failing to pay income tax.

Other defendants had already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

• Duston Reed, 41, of Waldoboro, and New Moon Fisheries waived indictment on Dec. 27 on a charge of unlawful purchasing of fish in interstate commerce (violating the Lacey Act). The maximum sentence is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

• Samuel Olson, 73, of Cushing, pleaded guilty Oct. 17 in U.S. District Court in Portland to one count of unlawfully purchasing fish through interstate commerce. The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of no more than one year with probation of 12 to 24 months and a fine of $9,500.

• Andrew Banow, 37, of Rockport, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to one count each of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and defrauding the Internal Revenue Service. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 1 in U.S. District Court in Portland.

• Glenn Lawrence, 70, of Owls Head, pleaded guilty on Nov. 7, 2023, to one count of unlawfully purchasing fish through interstate commerce. The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of no more than one year with probation of 12 to 24 months and a fine of $9,500.

Lawrence is a commercial fisherman who operates the fishing vessel Double Eagle. Marine Patrol witnessed the Western Sea at the Rockland Fish Pier transferring herring to the Double Eagle, which then left and sold the herring to a dealer, according to court documents.

Between June 2016 and September 2019, the Western Sea – a 100-foot fishing vessel that operates out of Rockland and is owned by Robbins – made more than 80 trips to catch herring and under-reported the amount that was caught, according to documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The crew would sell the herring to dealers who also underreported how much they had received. The crew members were paid in cash for the amount of catch above the legal limit to deceive state and federal fishing regulators (NOAA) as well as the IRS, according to federal prosecutors.

NOAA notes it relies on accurate catch reports to set policies designed to ensure a sustainable fishery.

Herring is used for bait by the lobster industry.

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement and the Maine Marine Patrol investigated the case.