SAUGATUCK, Mich. — Authorities say an Oregon bait company has paid a $2,000 fine after shipping Pacific herring to Michigan in containers labeled as worms.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the herring was illegal because it wasn’t certified as being free of a virus that can kill Great Lakes fish.
The herring was sent earlier this year to a sports shop in Saugatuck in western Michigan. The shop isn’t in hot water because it was told the bait was OK.
In a statement released Wednesday, the DNR says it shared information with federal authorities. The DNR says Crowe’s Bait of Milwaukie, Oregon, paid a $2,000 penalty to the federal government.
Messages seeking comment from the bait dealer weren’t immediately returned.
