The New Zealand-based fishing company Sanford Limited has instructed all its fishing vessels to no longer enter or fish in any United States ports and its Exclusive Economic Zone, including the American Samoa waters.
The directive came after the company's insurer decided not to cover vessels fishing in US waters.
Sanford is about to be sentenced in Washington.
The US government has recommended that Sanford be sentenced to pay three million US dollars and to be placed on five years probation, with conditions including a ban on all vessels entering US ports for at least one year.
Sanford says it strongly opposes the three million dollar judgement, saying federal prosecutors cannot justify the sentence, which it says does not reflect any previous monetary judgements in other similar cases.
Sanford is recommending a criminal penalty of no more than 450,000 US dollars.
