The owner of Asian Buffet in Fort Bragg pled guilty to felony abalone poaching charges on ?. 

What day pled guilty

What day incarcerated

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The Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office told the Outpost that Steven Yuan Qin Liang is currently serving 360 days in the Mendocino County Jail for conspiracy to buy and sell sport-caught abalones for personal profit.

In addition to his sentencing, Liang also received 36 months probation, a $15,000 fine and a lifetime ban on any sport or commercial fishing licenses. 

abalone poaching cases involving Fort Bragg, Sacramento and Bay Area abalone poachers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced.

Liang was convicted in late 2017, duringa joint investigation by the CDFW Special Operations Unit and Mendocino Coast squad that started in June of 2015.

The CDFW reports that trafficking of illegally harvested abalone on the black market poses a significant enforcement problem and further endangers the abalone population.

Black market values are expected to rise after the California Fish & Game Commission unanimously voted to shut down recreational abalone fishing for the entire 2018 season last month.

The closure was the result of a study conducted by six diver-scientists, who analyzed 10 seafloor sites along California’s coast and determined that 37 percent of all recorded abalone were dead.

“It is immensely important for wildlife officers to work with District Attorneys who understand the importance of prosecuting poaching crimes against the dwindling abalone resource,” said CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of Law Enforcement David Bess in a press release. “The Mendocino County District Attorney’s office has an excellent track record in this regard.”