And meanwhile in New York life goes on as usual - a man from New York kept sharks in the pool…
And meanwhile in New York life goes on as usual -
A man from New York kept sharks in a pool in his basement
Investigators found seven sand sharks in an underground pool at a home in Hollands County, authorities said. The case highlighted an underground market of exotic and protected fish.
When authorities conducted a search in 2017 in Hollands County, New York, the home of a man recently arrested in Georgia with five small sharks in the back of his truck, they found seven sand sharks swimming in a pool above the ground in his basement. .
They then found the carcasses of two tiger sharks and a hammerhead shark, and the jaws of a small-toothed tooth of an endangered tooth, authorities said.
The man, Joshua Segwin, 40, of Grangeville, New York, pleaded guilty this week to illegal possession of the fish with the intent to sell it and was ordered to pay a $ 5,000 fine, the New York Attorney General's Office said. Disclaimer. The case drew attention to an underground market whose clients include professional athletes, entertainers and others with the means and desire to keep exotic fish as pets.
Mr. Segwin was arrested in July 2017 in Georgia on charges of driving without a license and holding five small sharks in a container in the back of his truck, according to the New York Attorney General's Office. Mr Segwin then admitted that he planned to take the sharks to New York and sell them, along with other live sharks that were in his home, authorities said.
After the New York Department of Environmental Protection learned of Mr. Segwin's arrest in Georgia, the department began its own investigation, authorities said. Investigators learned that Mr. Segwin operated a business called Aquatic Apex Life LLC and that he offered sharks for sale at MonsterFishKeepers.com.
Mr Segwin could not be reached for comment. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.
The New York Attorney General's Office stated in its statement that the sand shark is a species protected under state law.
In addition to the sand sharks, which according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection were found in a pool over 15 meters in the basement, the search of Mr Segwin's home also raised the nose of a small sawfish. The small sawfish, which can be up to 16 feet long and has a flat snout with teeth, was the first marine fish to be protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2003, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
It is legal to keep sharks, which have become a status symbol for various celebrities like Tracy Morgan, although ownership of protected species is prohibited.
Ken Moran, founder of a South Carolina-based business called Shark Supply, said private shark sellers often broke the law, selling to customers who could not guarantee a safe home for sharks.
"I refuse to sell to people if they can not provide an adequate system," Moran said, adding that his insistence on selling sharks only to buyers who can house them properly has cost him over the years.
Mr Moran said he had inspected his clients, including entertainers, athletes and designers, to ensure the sharks were kept in a suitably sized container with a suitable filtration system. If these standards can be guaranteed, then Mr. Moran will advance in the sale.
"Life in a 20-foot container, where they don't have to worry about being eaten, is a pretty wonderful life," Mr. Moran said. Sharks, especially younger ones, are often killed by predators in the ocean, he said, but they can also die quickly if not treated properly.
Mr. Moran declined to speculate when asked how many Mr. Segwin's sharks were selling, fearing it might encourage further illegal shark sales.
Sarah Hamamed, a senior scientist at the Institute for Marine Conservation, said that whenever a shark dies in the wrong environment, it harms the environment.
"Killing sharks is definitely bad for the future of the species," Ms. Hemed said. "That is why we have a law to protect endangered species."
Biologists from the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York, and the New York Aquarium on Coney Island assisted in the search for Mr. Segwin's home and property and were able to move the sand sharks to the Coney Island Aquarium.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/nyregion/joshua-seguine-sandbar-sharks-pool.html
Investigators found seven sandbar sharks in an aboveground pool in a house in Dutchess County, authorities said. The case spotlighted an underground market for exotic and protected fish.
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