Chuukese family members fined for smuggling clam meat

A father and daughter from Chuuk must pay $1,250 in fines for attempting to smuggle 60 pounds of giant clam meat into Hawaii.

Leo John, 52, and his daughter Flyona Lynn John, 22, pleaded guilty in February to violating the Endangered Species Act.

U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson on Tuesday fined Leo John $1,000 and Flyona Lynn John $250. He also sentenced the father to two years of probation and the daughter to one year of probation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Honolulu Airport discovered the giant clam meat hidden under some cooked breadfruit in four coolers brought into the country in February 2013 by Flyona Lynn John. Her father later admitted that he enlisted the help of his daughter to import the clam meat.

Leo John also admitted that he did not have a permit to import giant clam meat into the United States as required by an international treaty regarding plants and animals that could face extinction if their trade is not regulated. The U.S. is a signatory to the treaty. The Endangered Species Act enforces the treaty.

Giant clam meat is a delicacy among Chuukese living in Hawaii. John said he wanted to bring the clam meat to Oahu for people assisting with his re-election to a seat in Chuuk’s House of Representatives. The election was in March 2013. John lost, coming in third out of six candidates in his precinct. Only the top two vote-getters are elected.