On Friday, Khoua Vang Moua and Tony Moua were sentenced by Glenn County Superior Court Judge Angus Saint-Evens to 120 days in jail, 90 days suspended as terms of court probation, plus a $2,700 fine and a loss of fishing privileges for three years.

The brothers were leaders of a sophisticated poaching ring who stretched nets across the Sacramento River to catch salmon fry headed for the ocean. The group used camouflaged covers on their cars and posted lookouts with walkie-talkies. The salmon were then sold as bait to striped bass and sturgeon fishermen.

Fish and Game Warden Steve Owen jumpstarted the investigation after noticing the nets, which he found especially odd because spring is the time when the juvenile salmon, at only three- to four-inches long, migrate back to the ocean.