TANGIER ISLAND, VA - A Tangier man pleaded guilty in federal district court this week to transporting large amounts of blue crabs from Virginia waters and selling them in Maryland, a violation of the Lacey Act.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, James Warren Eskridge, 45, exceeded the maximum allowed harvest and sale of blue crabs 16 times between March 20, 2023 and April 20, 2023. The Attorney’s Office says blue crab harvesting limit laws are especially strict due to the Chesapeake Blue Crab being the most valuable fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.
Law enforcement officials say they saw Eskridge offload more than 55 bushels of crabs collected in Virginia in Crisfield, Maryland on several occasions. Virginia limit laws allow for up to 27 bushels of blue crab per day.
The Attorney’s Office says Eskridge, when confronted by investigators, originally claimed to have purchased the additional crabs from a buy boat to later sell. He would later admit that all the crabs were his and he was in excess of Virginia’s harvesting limit, according to prosecutors.
“Records from the seafood buyer in Crisfield showed that between March 20, 2023, and April 20, 2023, Eskridge sold in excess of 27 bushels to the seafood buyer on 16 occasions on which Eskridge’s over harvesting ranged from 32 bushels to 58.75 bushels of blue crab,” the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia said.
Eskridge pleaded guilty on Wednesday, March 13th to one count of knowingly transporting and selling blue crab in interstate commerce between Virginia and Maryland and one count of knowingly making and submitting a false record. His sentencing is scheduled for July 17th.
Eskridge faces a maximum penalty of 5 years, though the Attorney’s Office notes sentences for federal crimes are typically less than maximum penalties.
On Friday, Eskridge’s Attorney confirmed to WBOC that Eskridge is the son of Tangier’s Mayor Eskridge.