Three fishermen face federal charges for illegally transporting over 7,000 pounds of crab from Southeast Alaska to Seattle. The scheme led to massive waste due to diseased and dead crab, highlighting the importance of strict regulations to protect the Alaska crab industry.

Thousands of pounds of the catch were dead or had to be destroyed upon arrival in Washington state due to potential parasitic infection, federal prosecutors said.

A Federal Grand Jury has indicted the owner and captain of two crab catcher vessels for illegally transporting crab.

In February and March, using two fishing boats, the trio caught 7,000 pounds of crab and illegally transported the lot to Seattle, skipping over the law-mandated step of getting a fish ticket from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, according to an April 22 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Alaska says the three men caught crab in Southeast Alaska this spring and moved them to Seattle seeking a higher price.