Following a successful NOAA investigation, Don Rynn was sentenced to more than a year in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for violations related to commercial fishing, including lying to federal agents.
Don Rynn manages two commercial fishing vessels operating from McClellanville in South Carolina, both of which were involved in this case. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina successfully prosecuted the case and Doon Rynn to twelve months and one day of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release and a $7500 fine.
He was found guilty of making false statements on trip reports about the amount and quality of fish, as well as lying to federal agents.
In 2023, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Saltwater Unit received a tip regarding false reporting of federally managed snowy grouper and tilefish harvested by the bottom longline vessel, Maximum Retriever.
‘NOAA Fisheries special agents and state officers obtained key prosecution evidence, including testimony implicating the subject, logbooks and video footage,’ said Manny Antonaras, assistant director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division. ‘The video footage showed Rynn and his fishing vessel crew illegally transferring fish between the Maximum Retriever and another of his managed boats, the Crystal C.’
The investigation revealed that the Maximum Retriever exceeded their commercial trip limits by nearly three times the limit for grouper and one and a half times the limit for tilefish.
‘We determined a timeline of Rynn’s actions to intentionally circumvent commercial trip limits and instruct his employees to aid him in violating these restrictions. The captain of the Maximum Retriever stated that Rynn instructed him to keep everything he caught and they would transfer any overages to the Crystal C when he returned.’
Maximum Retriever exceeded its catch limits and called Rynn to set up an early morning dockside transfer of fish between his vessels, in order to conceal their catch overages. Rynn instructed the crew from the Maximum Retriever to place overages of snowy grouper and tilefish onto the Crystal C, which did not catch any of these fish during its trip. He submitted false reports to NOAA to conceal the overages. Both species are federally managed with commercial trip limits in place to aid in stock sustainability.
‘It is our job to protect honest fishermen. This verdict should serve as a reminder that those who break the rules will be held accountable,’ said Manny Antonaras.
‘The expertise of our investigators and state partners at South Carolina’s Saltwater Unit were integral in the successful prosecution of this case.’
