Former L.A. sushi chef sentenced to probation for serving whale meat

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former chef who pleaded guilty to serving whale meat at a now-closed Southern California sushi restaurant was sentenced on Monday to two years' probation and fined $5,000, prosecutors said. Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, who admitted serving the whale meat at The Hump restaurant at Santa Monica Airport, was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. Yamamoto and another chef at the restaurant, Susumu Uedea, each pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor charges of conspiracy and the sale of marine mammals in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Hump's owner, Brian Vidor, pleaded guilty to similar charges and was also sentenced to probation. The restaurant closed in 2010 as a result of an undercover federal investigation into the sale of sei whale meat. Prosecutors have said that meat sold as whale to informants posing as customers at the restaurant was submitted to DNA testing and found to be endangered sei whale. The sei whale, which can grow to a length of 15 to 22 yards (14 to 20 meters), became targeted for commercial whaling after stocks of the bigger blue and fin whales were depleted, according to the World Wildlife Fund. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney)