Montauk Fisherman Who Took Too Much Fluke Gets a 30-Month Sentence

A Montauk, N.Y., fisherman was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Thursday for his role in a conspiracy to harvest and sell thousands of pounds more fluke and black sea bass than limits allowed.

The man, Chris Winkler, 65, who helms a 45-foot trawler called the New Age, was convicted by a Long Island jury in October on federal charges of hauling too many fish from the sea. The jury also found him guilty of falsifying records and selling his illegal catch to partners at Gosman’s Dock, a waterfront mall and restaurant complex in Montauk, and to dealers at the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx.

Mr. Winkler was unanimously convicted on the five counts he faced, which included criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced on Thursday by Judge Joan M. Azrack of the Eastern District of New York and will surrender in December.

“I consider this a serious crime,” said Judge Azrack, who called the trial “illuminating, educational and disturbing.” Mr. Winkler, she said, “undermined the integrity of the whole fisheries management program.”

Mr. Winkler sat in the courtroom in Central Islip’s glassy federal court complex flanked by his lawyers. Mr. Winkler, who wore a blazer and had his shoulder-length hair tucked in a ponytail, appeared serious and occasionally emotional. He was joined by a smattering of friends and fellow Montauk residents, some of whom wore flip-flops and flannel shirts.

A lawyer for Mr. Winkler, Richard W. Levitt, declined to comment.

The sentencing came roughly nine months after Mr. Winkler’s federal trial, which included testimony by dock workers and fishermen as well as officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which sets quotas for each state.