The Managing Director of the New Zealand fishing company, Sanford Limited, denies polluting American Samoa's waters.
A United States federal grand jury has lodged seven charges against the company under US anti-pollution laws.
Sanford is accused of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, as well as conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to allegations it has been illegally dumping oily bilge waste at sea.
However Eric Barratt says his company did nothing wrong, and he's ready to defend the claims.
If convicted, the company could be charged more than 640-thousand dollars on each count, with the indictment also seeking criminal forfeiture of over 31-million dollars.
