A California restaurant owner and its parent company pleaded guilty Monday to serving customers meat from an endangered whale species.
Brian Vidor, owner of The Hump in Santa Monica, admitted to illegally selling meat from the endangered Sei whale to undercover federal agents in 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Typhoon Restaurant Inc., parent company of the now-defunct restaurant, pleaded guilty to the same federal charges and both are expected to be sentenced in February 2015. If their plea is accepted, they will be forced to pay one $27,500 fine and will be placed on probation- Vidor for a year and Typhoon for 18 months.
The Hump, which specialized in sushi and exotic seafood, made headlines in 2010 when it chose to close down after federal prosecutors charged Vidor and one of the chefs with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by selling the Sei meat.
"The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species," reads a 2010 statement from the restaurant's website, the LA Times reported.
Officials from several agencies- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- launched a probe into the restaurant when the documentary "The Cove" captured undercover footage of whale meat being served.
Undercover agents arrived at the restaurant, located at the Santa Monica Airport, and sat at the sushi bar. According to an affidavit on the case, one of the chefs left through a back door and returned with a package. He then proceeded to serve the customers while whispering that it was whale meat, the LA Times reported.
Two chefs, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and Susumu Ueda, are awaiting sentencing after they were arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and the sale of marine mammals in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
