Brookport man sentenced to prison for illegal fishing on Ohio River

A southern Illinois caviar fisherman was sentenced to one year in federal prison for illegal fishing on the Ohio River.

U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett said that 44-year-old Daniel Allen of Brookport pleaded guilty, admitting to illegally catching shovelnose sturgeon along the Kentucky/Illinois border in 2018 and 2019.

He said Allen sold fish eggs to a caviar distributor in Tennessee. Allen also caught the sturgeon out of season using illegally sized nets along the Ohio River and near the Smithland Lock and Dam in an area closed to commercial fishing.

Allen was found to be in violation of the Lacey Act, which makes it unlawful for any person to transport and sell fish caught in violation of any law or regulation of any state.

In addition to his prison sentence, Allen agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution.