Deputy City Attorney Mark Soto with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s (LACA) Office has been named as the Wildlife Prosecutor of the Year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced. The selection was decided by the California Fish and Game Commission and Chief of Patrol upon evaluating nominations from CDFW’s wildlife officers.

Soto is a member of the LACA Environmental Justice Unit (EJU). Due to his expertise in civil litigation, Soto handles many of the commercial fishery related cases referred to the LACA EJU such as complex cases involving illegal importation of non-native abalone.

Once a popular recreational and commercial fishery, California’s native abalone populations are struggling. Two of California’s eight native abalone species are federally endangered, and other species, including the once-populous red abalone, are in decline. All commercial fishing for abalone has been banned since 1997, and recreational take of abalone has been prohibited since 2017. Licensed California aquaculture farms fulfill some of the robust demands by the legal farming of red abalone. Unfortunately, some businesses have turned to unlawful importation to profit from that robust demand not met by lawful aquaculture.

Non-native abalone importation is restricted in California due to concerns of serious diseases present in other global abalone populations that are not found in California. CDFW marine biologists are concerned those diseases could potentially infect local populations. The complex nature of cases includes navigating unlicensed or licensed fish businesses illegally importing abalone and the administrative challenges of investigating sales to restaurants, grocery stores or private parties. LACA’s EJU decided to handle the cases as civil cases for unfair business practices, the cases assigned to Soto.

Soto developed a team of prosecutors to handle these cases, including those in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County District Attorney’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit. Due to the multi-jurisdictional nature of the illegal importation crimes committed by the business and the extent of their unfair business practices, Soto took the lead and helped his fellow prosecutors understand these cases and the importance of the prosecutions.

“Mr. Soto understands how these prohibited abalone sales cases are not just stand-alone cases involving businesses selling prohibited species but are a part of the larger nationwide illegal wildlife trafficking trade,” said Nathaniel Arnold, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. “His leadership in Los Angeles and other municipalities made him the obvious selection as Wildlife Prosecutor of the Year.”

Prosecutions of cases involving abalone and other species required Soto to learn the complex laws and regulations around the commercial fish business industry, California aquaculture regulations and restricted species laws and regulations. He has trained his fellow prosecutors in the same areas of expertise.