Montauk Fisherman Sentenced After Illegal Fluke Harvesting: Feds

MONTAUK, NY —A Montauk fisherman was sentenced this week to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in a fisheries fraud conspiracy associated with his captainship of the trawler New Age from 2014 to 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

In October 2023, a jury convicted Christopher Winkler of one count of federal criminal conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice, the DOJ said.

On at least 200 fishing trips, Winkler targeted summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass, and harvested those fish in excess of quotas and state trip limits; he also falsified fishing vessel trip reports for those trips, the DOJ said.

In a related case, Bryan and Asa Gosman and the company they partially own — Bob Gossman Co. Inc. — previously pleaded guilty for their role in the fishing fraud conspiracy, the DOJ said. In total, about 200,000 lbs. of fluke and black sea bass were overharvested, with a "conservative" wholesale valuation of $750,000, the DOJ said.