Seafood dealer sentenced for illegal fish sales

A Mississippi seafood dealer is heading to federal prison for illegal fish sales.
A federal judge sentenced Lonnie M. Ray of Bay St. Louis to serve 25 months in prison and another three years on supervised release.
Ray, of Cowart Seafood Inc., pleaded guilty in April to selling to Louisiana buyers fish taken in violation of Mississippi law. Ray acknowledged he failed to report seafood purchases to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and bought fish from recreational fishermen, which are both against state laws. He also pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered, sawed-off shotgun.
Court records show Ray had to forfeit the shotgun to authorities.