The U.S. Attorney's office said today that a federal grand jury has indicted six men on charges of criminally catching and selling thousands of undersized juvenile leopard sharks allegedly harvested from the San Francisco Bay.

The indictment, which was returned on Jan. 24 and unsealed Tuesday afternoon, alleges that the pastor of a San Leandro church, four men involved in the aquarium industry, and a fisherman violated the Lacey Act, which makes it a federal offense to knowingly sell or purchase fish, wildlife or plants that were captured in violation of any underlying law.

Prosecutors said the Lacey Act charges specifically incorporate California state law, which places a minimum size limit of 36 inches for any commercial harvest of California leopard sharks.

The indictment charges five of the six men with conspiracy to harvest thousands of undersized (under 36 inches in length) California leopard sharks from the San Francisco Bay, and then sell and ship the juvenile sharks to pet trade distributors throughout the U.S. and the world.

The indictment specifically charges that approximately 465 juvenile leopard sharks were sold to companies in Miami, Chicago, Houston, Romulus, Mich., Milford, Conn., the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Attorney's office said the men indicted are:

--Kevin Thompson, 48, of San Leandro, the pastor at the Bay Area Family Church, Holy Spirit Association - Unification Worldwide Church in San Leandro. Thompson and the church co-owned at least one vessel, prosecutors say.

--John Newberry, 34, of Hayward, worked at Pan Ocean Aquarium Inc. and was previously a commercial fisherman.

--Ira Gass, 53, of Azusa, is a marine aquaria dealer in Azusa who operated Indorica Fish Imports, an aquaria business.

--Hiroshi Ishikawa, 36, of San Leandro, was a member of the Bay Area Family Church in San Leandro and a fisherman.

--Vincent Ng, 43, of Oakland, owned Amazon Aquarium Inc. in Alameda.

--Sion Lim, 39, of San Francisco, owned Bayside Aquatics, which is located in Oakland, and was charged with one violation of the Lacey Act for the illegal sale of juvenile leopard sharks on May 6, 2004.

The U.S. Attorney's office says California leopard sharks are a species of shark within the Triakidae family and are commonly found in ocean waters along the Oregon, California, and Baja Mexico coasts.

Juvenile leopard sharks are commonly found in bays and estuaries from the California-Oregon border south to Baja, Mexico.

Major pupping areas where young California leopard sharks are born are found within San Francisco and Monterey Bays as well as the southern California coast.

The pupping season extends from March through July with a peak between April and May. Pups are born live and are approximately 10 inches long.

The U.S. Attorney's office said both the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Ill., and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey collaborated with and assisted federal wildlife agents and Illinois Conservation officers in the transport and care of 19 baby leopard sharks confiscated during the course of the investigation.