Case Against Asian Market Moves Forward

In some Asian cultures, eels, frogs and even turtles are considered gastronomic delicacies. In Virginia, though, lawmakers see it a little differently.

That's why appeared in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Friday. Kai Wei Jin and Jian Miao Xia, both managers at the , have been charged with stocking live turtles, eels, bullfrogs, largemouth bass and crawfish at the store, at 2982 Gallows Road in Falls Church.

It's legal for grocers throughout the state to sell live lobster, crabs and even different kinds of live fish without special permits, but certain aquatic species, including the ones discovered at the Great Wall Supermarket, have been deemed impermissible to sell for human consumption.

Defense attorney John Carter argued all of the species at the Great Wall Supermarket had been bred in captivity for human consumption. The crawfish came from Louisiana. Some of the turtles originated from a turtle farm in Oklahoma. Carter said it is "arbitrary and capricious" for one state to allow these species to be raised in captivity and for another state to rule it's illegal for them to be sold.

"It doesn't make any kind of regulatory sense," Carter said.

But Commonwealth Attorney David Gardy argued state lawmakers have thoughtfully considered which species are fit to be sold in order to protect the wildlife population.

"Virginia has carefully chosen certain species ... which commercial exploitation historically leads to decimation of that species," Gardy said.

Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Marcus Williams said state law does not conflict with the federal 1980 National Aquaculture Act, which lawmakers drafted to promote the production of domestic seafood.

The case is scheduled for trial in Fairfax on April 11.