United States v. Byron v. Skinna

Byron Skinna Sr. appeals his conviction for unlawful transportation in interstate commerce of illegally taken herring spawn on kelp, 16 U.S.C. § 3372 (a)(2)(A). He contends that the Alaska fishing regulations underlying his Lacey Act conviction are invalid because they conflict with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 3113 , 3114. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Skinna is a Tlingit Indian who lives in Klawock, Alaska, a village of less than 300 people. Skinna, in a group effort with other native Alaskans, sent 580 pails of herring spawn on kelp packed in a brine solution from Prince Wales Island, Alaska to Seattle, Washington. Skinna had arranged to sell the shipment for $91,000 to Sakurai, a Canadian resident. Sakurai planned to process the herring spawn and sell them to Japan, where they are considered a rare delicacy. After their seizure, the government sold the pails of herring spawn on kelp for $274,000 at auction. It estimated the total weight at 32,000 pounds.

Skinna was convicted under the Lacey Act, which makes it unlawful to “transport, [or] sell ... in interstate or foreign commerce ... any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported,…