September 14, 2023 — It was just before dawn when Chris Winkler, a fisherman in Montauk, N.Y., set off on his trawler, the New Age.
A longhaired surfer who looks far younger than his 63 years, Mr. Winkler was in flip-flops and shorts, trailed by Murphy, a good-natured Irish water spaniel who is usually his only company.
But on that July day, he had others aboard: members of his legal team and a reporter. He was gearing up for a federal trial that began this week in Central Islip, N.Y., before Judge Joan M. Azrack on charges of taking more fish from the sea than the law allows.
Prosecutors say that in past years Mr. Winkler exceeded the limit on fluke, a spotted flat fish also known as summer flounder, by at least 200,000 pounds, and caught more black sea bass than was allowed.
He is accused of making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit deals with of one of Montauk’s most venerable seafood institutions, Gosman’s. The two men originally charged with him, Bryan and Asa Gosman, cut deals with the government and are expected to testify against him.
Gosman’s Dock boasts sprawling restaurants and retail stores in addition to its wholesale business. For decades, it has been one of Long Island’s largest suppliers of fresh fish, and has been a mainstay in Montauk, even as the fishing-village soul of the town has been overshadowed by big-spending tourists in something of a Hamptonification. That could change soon: Gosman’s Dock is up for sale, priced at $45 million.