Managers of Dudley Market, the upscale eatery near the Venice Boardwalk, bragged to its well-heeled diners that their seafood was sustainable, but prosecutors proved otherwise
On any given night, the well-heeled patrons who line up to get into Dudley Market, the ultra-trendy eatery near the Venice Beach Boardwalk, could wait for hours to dine on what the restaurant insists is sustainably sourced seafood and be part of the Westside scene.
But prosecutors this week announced that Dudley Market and its managers, who operated commercial fishing vessels, were duping diners by serving up illegally sourced seafood, often pulled from marine protected areas. The eatery and its former employees have now been hit with more than $100,000 in fines for illegally operating in protected waters. Prosecutors in two counties, along with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, say an investigation into Dudley Market and its seafood producers uncovered “repeated violations of state and federal commercial fishing laws in 2020 and 2021.”
Under California law, it is illegal to sell sport-caught fish commercially. But Dudley Market, prosecutors say, bought fish from the operator of a vessel called the Jamaica Bay, Conner Mitchell, 37, who was also a manager at the restaurant along with Taylor Grant, 41, both served seafood caught in protected waters. Another commercial fisherman, Cody Martin, 30, of El Segundo, fished off his vessel Predator “and supplied fish to Dudley Market.”
The illegally caught fish, which were often pulled from protected spaces for marine life, including “rockfish, bluefin tuna and yellowtail,” the CDFW said. Despite harvesting urchins and other species from protected spaces, Dudley Market told its patrons that its seafood was “sustainable, traceable and lawfully procured.”
“These businesses lured the public into thinking they were caring for our precious resources, when in reality, their fish was unlawfully sourced. Sustainability was the bait, but fraud was the hook,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. “The message is clear; this kind of deception will not be tolerated.”
As part of the settlement, Mitchell and the restaurant operating under the name Dudley Street Oyster Bar and Shark Bite Fish Co. were ordered to pay $58,226.25 in civil penalties, $15,000 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and $1,773.75 in court costs and fees in May 2026.
Grant was ordered to pay $40,000 in civil penalties and $10,000 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund in Jul. 2025. Martin was ordered to pay $8,000 in civil penalties and $2,000 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund in Sep. 2025. Both Grant and Martin are now also prohibited from commercial fishing in California.
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Gilmer Grant, owner of fishing vessel Jamaica Day in 2020, was ordered to pay $10,000 in civil penalties and $5,000 to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund in Aug. 2025 and is also prohibited from owning or operating a commercial fishing vessel in California.
“Angelenos deserve to know that the seafood they purchase is safely sourced from businesses that are following the law and not jeopardizing local marine life,” according to Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. “My office will always hold accountable those who violate laws designed to protect consumers and our fragile ecosystems.”
Dining and Cooking