Three fish and the Supreme Court

What does Enron have in common with a fish?

The Supreme Court of the United States is considering a case that shows how a business very different from yours might affect you in ways you never imagined.

After Enron collapsed, a law called “Sarbanes Oxley” made it a crime to destroy documents and other tangible objects. It turns out “tangible objects” might include… fish. 

John Yates, a commercial fisherman in the Gulf Coast, caught a bunch of grouper under the legal size limit. Fish and wildlife agents ordered him to bring them to a nearby port. Yates allegedly tossed them overboard instead, and was charged with destroying tangible objects under Sarbanes Oxley.

We wanted to get a sense of how this case is playing in the Gulf, so we spoke to Dean Blanchard, who runs a seafood company in Grand Isle Louisiana.