Sei Whale – - Following proved allegations of serving Sei Whale meat to the customers, famous sushi restaurant Santa Monica faces criminal charges filed by federal prosecutors on Wednesday.

A video sting orchestrated with the help of animal activists and federal agents unveiled the fact the restaurant sold the Sei Whale meat illegally.

The charges were filed against Typhoon Restaurant Inc. that owns a Hump called the sushi restaurant located at the Santa Monica Airport and one of its chefs namely Kiyoshiro Yamamoto that has been identified as a 45-year-old Culver City resident. The hangout immediately responded to the criminal charges and their attorney Gary Lincenberg conveyed that the management accepts the wrongdoings.

Gary further clarified that the management takes full responsibility of the incident and agrees to pay the fine imposed to resolve the matter while in the Los Angeles U.S. District Court. The sei whale in question falls under the category of endangered species of fish thus its preying or selling its meat is a crime. It has been defined as ‘marine mammal product sei whale’s sale is illegal and a misdemeanor.’

An individual or an organization involved in the misdemeanor is thus liable for a maximum penalty of up to one year’s prison time alongside a fine maximum $100,000 and $200,000 respectively in case of an individual or some organization, explained the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The news of illegal serving of whale meat first appeared through one of the most reliable media source on Tuesday.

An Oscar-winning documentary titled ‘The Cove’s associate producer known as Charles Hambleton alongside federal agents arranged a video sting while they sent in two females from an animal activists’ group, as customers to sushi restaurant. A tiny camera followed their moves and captured how they ordered a dish called omakase that cost them $600.

Then the undercover customers asked for whale meat, if available and soon they learned it was available when eight pieces of ‘whale’ arrived on table. The rest of the task was relevantly easier; the females bagged a sample or two and left the premises while the samples were subsequently transferred to Scott Baker the Oregon State University Marine Mamma Institute’s director. Baker didn’t take too much time to determine the meat was of a sei whale.

Friday night, the armed federal officials raided the restaurant and the same was followed by investigations from National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. The California department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services also helped conducting the investigations.