Washington Fishing Guide Pleads Guilty to Keeping Wild Coho

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A longtime Washington state fishing guide has pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge that he violated the Endangered Species Act by helping clients keep a pair of wild coho salmon.

Billy Swann, who runs Rainier-based Swanny's Guided Fishing, took three clients out on the Cowlitz River in October 2014. He clubbed two wild coho they caught, then sliced off their adipose fins — as hatcheries do with young salmon to distinguish them from wild fish — and told his clients to mark the fish as hatchery on their state catch-record cards.

People who saw images of the fish on social media reported them to authorities.

Swann pleaded guilty Wednesday in Tacoma. His attorney said Swann made a mistake about what the regulations on the Cowlitz were.

Swann is expected to face a fine of $5,000 to $10,000 but no jail time when he's sentenced in March.