SANTA CRUZ — A San Jose man who shot and killed a great white shark last summer while fishing in waters near Aptos was convicted in Santa Cruz Superior Court for unlawfully killing the animal, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday.

Vinh Pham, 41, pleaded no contest Jan. 14 to a variety of charges, including unlawful take of a great white shark and wanton waste of the white shark, according to the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. A no contest plea has the same legal effect as a guilty verdict.

Pham was fined $5,000 and placed on conditional probation for two years. The court ordered that his rifle be destroyed.

On June 17, 2018, the nine-foot male white shark washed up on Beer Can Beach in Aptos. A necropsy performed on the shark determined it had been killed “by multiple shots from a .22 caliber firearm,” according to the department of fish and wildlife. X-ray images of the shark showed at least one bullet.

Capt. Todd Tognazzini of the Fish and Wildlife’s law enforcement division said the forensic work typically done in normal criminal cases can be applied to wildlife investigations.

“Hopefully people get the message that we’re prosecuting criminals who violate laws that are meant to protect the state’s wildlife resources,” Tognazzini said.

Not long after the necropsy was performed, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife received a tip that a member of a commercial fishing boat crew may have been responsible for the shark’s death.

Officers followed up on the tip and observed the boat fishing after dark near where the shark washed onshore. Two wildlife officers contacted the crew as the vessel returned to Santa Cruz Harbor early the next morning.

A regular commercial fishing inspection uncovered multiple violations involving their catch for that day, including possession of undersize halibut, no landing receipts, failure to weigh their commercial catch and failure to turn in landing receipts, according to the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. The case was prosecuted by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.

Officers also located a fully-loaded .22 caliber rifle concealed behind the seat of the truck Pham used to transport his catch to markets. Officers seized the rifle and submitted both the rifle and the .22 bullets extracted during the shark necropsy to the California Department of Justice crime lab to see if they matched.

“We’re very lucky we found the firearm that was used in the event,” Tognazzini said. “The officer thought to check the vehicle used to transport the catch to market. We’re very fortunate that this person felt like they got away with it and we were able to to tie all that together.”

Initially, Pham told investigators he did not pull the trigger, and rather ordered a deckhand to shoot the shark, Tognazzini said. Investigators eventually located the deckhand, who implicated the boat’s captain, Pham, as the person who shot the great white.

Eventually Pham confessed to shooting the shark, claiming he shot the animal after seeing it swim near the wings of his deployed fishing net, Tognazzini said.

“He felt it was disturbing his fishing activity,” Tognazzini said. “He was upset with the shark and decided to shoot it.”

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Anyone who witnesses a poaching or polluting incident or any fish and wildlife violation, or have information about such a violation, is asked to call the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s toll free number at 888-334-2258.