A Hyde County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegal harvesting, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

John Roberts, 45, of Engelhard, pleaded guilty to illegal harvest and sale of 6,884 pounds of Atlantic striped bass from Jan. 20, 2010, to Feb. 2, 2010, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Additionally, on one of his fishing trips, Roberts exceeded the North Carolina catch limit for Atlantic Striped Bass, making multiple landings and filing multiple trip reports to make it appear that the fish had been caught during separate outings,” the release stated. “Roberts also made false statements on his federal trip reports to conceal the true location of the harvest.”

Authorities estimate the retail value of the harvesting to be more than $55,000.

Roberts is the third local fisherman to plead guilty to illegal harvesting charges in the past couple of weeks. Ellis Leon Gibbs Jr., of Engelhard, and Dwayne J. Hopkins, of Belhaven, pleaded guilty on Jan. 23, and both are scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on April 24.

The National Marine Fisheries Service enacted a harvesting ban in 1990 in the Exclusive Economic Zone for areas measuring between 3 and 200 miles off the Atlantic coastline. All three fishermen were caught fishing in this area.

“Striped bass are a migratory species, living most of their adult life in ocean waters and migrating inshore (i.e., into estuaries, bays and river systems) during the spring/summer to spawn. Large spawning females have been known to aggregate in areas of the Exclusive Economic Zone,” said Max Appelman, ASMFC management plan coordinator, in a previous interview.

“The ban on fishing in the EEZ continues to provide a valuable conservation benefit to the Atlantic striped bass population by providing refuge to large spawning females during the winter months. When these regulations are broken, it undermines the management and regulatory program of the Atlantic striped bass FMP, among other repercussions (like hurting those who follow the rules),” he said.

Roberts faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will appear in court on May 8 for sentencing.