Public Notification

December 10, 2025
NOTICE OF SEIZURE AND PROPOSED FORFEITURE

The United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement is commencing a forfeiture proceeding against the following wildlife or wildlife products (“property”), which were seized in Louisville,KY on the dates indicated below. The property was imported in violation of the following laws and/or regulations of the United States:

16 USC 1538(c)(1); It is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to engage in any trade in any specimens contrary to the provisions of the Convention, or to possess any specimens traded contrary to the provisions of the Convention, including the definitions of terms in article I thereof. 50 CFR 23.22: In-transit shipment in violation of Part 23. 16 USC 3372(a)(1); It is unlawful to import or export any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any Tribal or Federal law. Specifically, violation of NOAA law (National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, Sec. 5946(b) Prohibition on the sale of shark fin including transport. 16 USC 3372(d); It is unlawful for any person to make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any fish, wildlife, or plant which has been imported from any foreign country.

FILE NO. DATE OF SEIZURE PROPERTY ID OR SEIZURE TAG NO. VALUE PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
2025405249 October 23, 2025 119466 $120.0 One thousand four hundred and seventy eight (1478) Bigeye Thresher Shark (Alopias supercilious) Fins
2025405249 October 23, 2025 119466 $120.0 Forty Six (46) Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) Fins
2025405249 October 23, 2025 119466 $120.0 One thousand four hundred and seventy eight (1478) Bigeye Thresher Shark (Alopias supercilious) Fins
2025405249 October 23, 2025 119466 $120.0 Forty Six (46) Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) Fins

This property may be subject to forfeiture to the United States under Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 470aaa-7; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 668b; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 742j-1; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 1377; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 1540(e); Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 2409; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 3374; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 4224; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 4912; Title 16, United States Code, Sec. 5305a; Title 18, United States Code, Sec. 42; and/or Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 12. Other provisions of law regarding forfeitures that may apply include the Supplemental Rules of the Federal Rules of Admiralty; Title 19, United States Code, Sec. 1607; Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 162; and Title 18, United States Code, Sec. 983.

This notice’s purpose is to advise persons with an ownership or financial interest in the property of their legal options concerning this seizure and proposed forfeiture. If you do not have an ownership or financial interest in the property, you do not need to take any action. First, if you seek return of the property, you may file a claim OR a petition for remission, as explained below. Alternatively, you may abandon the property by contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, at the below address or phone to obtain an abandonment form then complete and return to the form to that address; or complete and return an equivalent form; or submit a letter with substantially the same information (per 50 C.F.R. 12.51). Lastly, you can choose to do nothing, and we will forfeit the property and dispose of it in accordance with the law after the deadline passes. If you choose abandonment or no action, this property will not be returned to you.

Any person with an ownership or financial interest in the property who desires to contest the forfeiture must file a claim with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement 600 Martin Luther King Jr. Place, Ste. 322 Louisville, KY 40202. Your claim must be received by the above office by February 08, 2026 , unless you receive a personal notice letter, in which case the deadline in that notice letter applies. Your claim will be transmitted to the U.S. Attorney in the district where the property was seized for institution of a forfeiture action in U.S. District Court. If a proper claim is not received by the above office by the applicable deadline, the property will be declared forfeited to the United States and disposed of according to law. To file a claim, contact the above office at 502-582-5989 to obtain a claim form, complete the form, and file it by the deadline. Alternatively, you may file a claim in writing that meets the requirements of 50 C.F.R. 12.36, which, among other things, must describe the property, state your ownership or financial interest in the property, and meet the signature and oath requirements. If you file a claim and not having your property presents a hardship, you may request that we release it to you during forfeiture proceedings if you can meet specific conditions in 18 U.S.C. 983(f). Contact the above office for more information about hardship release once you have filed a claim. If you file a claim and, at the end of the district court proceedings your claim is upheld, your property may be returned to you.

A person with an interest in the property who does not wish to contest the forfeiture but does seek its return may instead file with the above office a petition for remission of forfeiture in accordance with Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, part 12. You may not file both a claim and a petition for remission; you must choose one. The petition must be received in the above office by February 08, 2026 , unless you receive a personal notice, in which case the deadline in that notice applies. Your petition does not have to be in any specific form, but it must comply with the standards at 50 C.F.R. 12.33. Among other things, it must explain your interest in the property and lay out facts and circumstances that you believe justify return of the property. All petitions must comply with the signature requirements at 50 C.F.R. 12.33. If your petition is granted, the property may be returned to you.

Please note that 50 C.F.R. 12 and 18 U.S.C. 983 contain requirements and procedures applicable to the forfeiture process, and you are strongly encouraged to review them before filing a claim or petition. If you file either a claim or a petition for remission, storage costs may be assessed while the matter is pending.