Protected sharks in backyard swimming pool lead to dealer’s conviction, NY officials say

A New York man faces a $5,000 fine after being convicted of keeping protected sharks for sale in a backyard swimming pool, prosecutors say.

Joshua Seguine, 40, of LaGrangeville, pleaded guilty to illegal possession with intent to sell seven sandbar sharks, the state attorney general’s office said in a news release.

“We will not tolerate anyone who preys on protected species to line their pockets,” Attorney General Letitia James said in the statement.

Georgia police arrested Seguine in July 2017 after finding a water tank with five undersized sharks in the back of his pickup truck, the release says. Seguine told authorities he had more sharks at his home in New York.

Investigators discovered he had offered the sharks for sale on MonsterFishKeepers.com under the business name Aquatic Apex Life LLC, the release says.

A search of Sequine’s home turned up seven sandbar sharks, which are a protected species in New York, in an above-ground backyard swimming pool, according to the release.

Investigators also found “two dead leopard sharks, one dead hammerhead shark, and the snout of a smalltooth sawfish,” the release says. Smalltooth sawfish are an endangered species.

The surviving sharks are now at the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, according to the release.