Kodiak fishermen sentenced over illegal transport of Alaskan crab to Washington

A Kodiak fisherman has been sentenced to one year in jail for illegally shipping thousands of pounds of tanner crab infected with parasites from Alaska to Washington.

Corey Potter, 64, owned and operated two crab catcher vessels and caught tanner crab and golden king crab in Southeast Alaskan waters during February and March of 2024, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.

Kodiak fishermen co-defendants

The co-defendants, Kyle Potter, 30, and Justin Welch, 34, followed directions from Corey Potter and transported the harvested crab to Seattle, intending to sell the crabs at a higher price than would be received in Alaska, according to the news release.

One of the vessels had more than 4,200 pounds of live tanner crab aboard, and the other vessel had more than 2,900 pounds of live golden king crab.

Infected tanner crab

“A portion of the Tanner crab was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease that is fatal to crustaceans,” the release stated. “Roughly 42% of the king crab died and was unmarketable. Since the other vessel had BCS contaminated crabs, the entire catch of Tanner crab was transferred to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to dispose of in a landfill.”

Law enforcement served a search warrant on Welch and his fishing vessel in March 2024, which prompted Welch to inform Corey Potter and Kyle Potter of the search, and both deleted text messages detailing their plans to sell the crab for better prices in Seattle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Kodiak fishermen’s illegal crab sentencing

Corey Potter pled guilty to two counts of violating the Lacey Act on Feb. 7, 2025, according to the attorney’s office. Corey was also ordered to a worldwide commercial fishing ban throughout the duration of his supervised release.

Kyle Potter pled guilty and was sentenced on July 10, 2024, to five years’ probation, including a five-year worldwide commercial fishing ban concurrent with probation, and a $20,000 fine, according to the release.

Welch pled guilty and was sentenced on June 25, 2024, to three years’ probation and a $10,000 fine.

Michael J. Heyman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska, mentioned in the news release the importance of abiding by federal laws and factually reporting a harvest.

“Mr. Potter blatantly disregarded state and federal fishing laws and ignored the concerns of other fisherman when he directed his two captains to execute the illegal transport, resulting in the reckless loss of over 5,000 pounds of crab,” Heyman said.

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