A two-year investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service (NOAA), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the United States Attorney's Office involving marine species illegally caught in Florida and shipped out of state has resulted in a 57-count federal indictment against seven individuals.

The indictment, returned last week in U.S. District Court in Albany, Ga., details how five Panhandle fishermen and seafood dealers and two Georgia brothers allegedly conspired to transport a variety of marine fish illegally across state lines from Florida to Georgia, mislabeled fish and falsified documents.

Those charged in the indictment are:

    * James Stovall, DOB 06/11/67, Colquitt, Ga.;
    * Guy Stovall, DOB 07/15/73, Colquitt, Ga.;
    * Eric Donald Woods, DOB 10/23/80, Keaton Beach, Fla.;
    * Jeffery Cannon, DOB 10/11/58, Panacea, Fla.;
    * James N. Nations Jr., DOB 12/09/67, Apalachicola, Fla.;
    * Gary D. Brown, DOB 05/12/43, Medart, Fla.; and
    * Floyd Robbie Jenkins, DOB 05/06/54, Perry, Fla.

U.S. District Attorney Maxwell Wood said the indictments are only accusations, and the accused are presumed innocent until proved guilty at trial.

The multi-count indictment alleges Guy and James Stovall, owners of Road Runner Seafood Incorporated in Colquitt, Ga., worked with fishermen and two seafood dealers in Florida to purchase fish illegally taken or fish that can not be sold in Florida.  They also are charged with mislabeling the fish that must be reported to the FWC and NOAA.

Most of the violations involve the federal Lacey Act, which prohibits interstate shipment of fish or wildlife taken in violation of state law.  Each Lacey Act violation carries a possible five-year prison term and a $250,000 fine.

"This is one of the most far-reaching undercover operations on the northern Gulf Coast during the past 20 years," said Capt. Leroy Alderson, FWC regional investigations supervisor.  "Laws exist to protect marine resources, but the investigation showed pretty blatant efforts to bypass those laws for profit."

Investigators obtained search warrants and seized computers, business records and other documents from Road Runner Seafood in Colquitt, Ga., Brown's Seafood in Medart, Fla. and Robbie's Seafood in Perry, Fla.

The indictment spells out numerous violations, including:

    * fish sold illegally from Florida's waters, including red drum (redfish) and spotted seatrout;
    * red snapper, red grouper and gag grouper caught and sold during closed seasons;
    * fishing in state waters without proper commercial fishing permits and licenses;
    * selling fish without proper permits and licenses;
    * falsely identifying regulated fish species on state and federal documents; and
    * selling Vietnamese catfish as grouper.

NOAA and FWC investigators say the total commercial value of the fish involved exceeds $200,000.

The seven defendants have been arrested or issued summons requiring them to appear in U.S. District Court in Albany, Ga., on Aug. 13.