Prosecutor Sarah E. Steere brought live lobsters into a New London courtroom for a demonstration of measuring techniques as the trial got underway Thursday of Stonington lobsterman Justin Maderia, who is accused of harvesting undersized lobsters from local waters in January 2014.

Justin Maderia, 28, and his brother Travis Maderia, fourth-generation lobstermen, operate the Lindy fishing boat out of Stonington Harbor and call their business Lobsterboys. Justin Maderia, captain of the Lindy, pleaded not guilty and is representing himself on charges that he possessed four lobsters short of the 3 3/8-inch state minimum. He contends the lobsters he caught that day got mixed in with lobsters that Travis, a seafood dealer, had purchased from another source. 

A six-member jury will deliberate on the case Friday after the prosecutor and Justin Maderia sum up their cases in closing arguments. At the conclusion of testimony Thursday, a frustrated Maderia said the prosecution and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection don’t understand the lobster business. 

“They can bring in all the demos they want,” he said. “I’m just stating the facts that happened.” 

Conservation Officer Gregory Ulkus testified that he received information that Pawcatuck business Seafood Etc. was illegally buying lobsters from the Maderia brothers. Ulkus said he watched the Lindy coming into Stonington harbor and then followed Maderia in an unmarked car to Seafood Etc. When he arrived at the store, Ulkus testified, Justin and Travis Maderia were placing lobsters from a tote into a tank. 

“As I began looking at them, I immediately noticed a couple of them were going to be short,” he testified. “I began measuring all of them.” 

At least four were shorter than the legal length, he testified. While he was measuring the lobsters with his gauge, the Maderia brothers were questioning his method and calling the gauge he used into question, Ulkus testified. 

“They were both very argumentative, but civilly, not being disrespectful,” he testified. 

The DEEP claims Justin Maderia had at least a dozen short lobsters but was charged only with four violations of the state law. In taking the case to trial, he turned down Steere’s offer to plead guilty in exchange for a $100 fine. Travis Maderia said in the hallway outside the courtroom that his brother did not want to plead guilty because his reputation as a lobsterman is at stake. 

Before the trial began, the judge questioned Justin Maderia to ensure he understands he faces up to a year in prison if convicted. 

The state has photographs of the allegedly short lobsters, but also introduced to the jury two live American lobsters so that Ulkus could demonstrate his measuring technique. Jurors leaned forward to watch as Ulkus measured two lobsters pulled from a cooler. Steere, the prosecutor, then placed into evidence the gauge Ulkus used on the day in question and his standard, which is a tool for testing the gauge, so that jurors will have the items during deliberations. 

Justin Maderia, who had received instruction on trial procedure from Judge John M. Newson, bade the conservation officer a good afternoon before cross-examining him. 

“Is it possible that Justin Maderia sold his day’s catch to Travis Maderia before taking it to Seafood Etc.?” he asked, referring to himself in the third person. 

Ulkus said yes. 

Justin Maderia could not sell the product directly to the retailer, according to testimony. He testified that he sold them to his brother, Travis Maderia, a licensed seafood dealer, who in turn was selling them to Seafood Etc. 

“I sold my lobsters to a buyer,” he testified. “The buyer mixed my lobsters with those he had already bought from an unknown source.” 

Travis Maderia’s license had lapsed at the end of the previous year, and he had sent in his payment for renewal, but had not yet received the valid license, according to testimony. Called to the witness stand by his brother, Travis Maderia admitted he had no proof that he had bought the lobsters that day. 

Judge Newson reminded Justin Maderia and the prosecutor several times that the licensure issue is irrelevant and that the only issue at question is whether Justin Maderia was in possession of at least four undersized lobsters. 

Sharon Clachrie, owner of Seafood Etc., testified that she hadn’t seen the lobsters yet but was in the process of weighing them when the conservation officer arrived at the store and began measuring them. She said she didn’t recall the total amount. 

“I recall the amount 24 to 26 being undersized, but then they were re-measured,” Clachrie said. 

Earlier Thursday, the jury had a lesson in lobster conservation from David Simpson, director of marine fisheries for DEEP. He testified that in Lobster Management Area 6, which includes Long Island Sound and part of Block Island Sound, the 3 3/8-inch minimum length has been in place since 2010 and is intended to ensure that lobsters are able to reproduce. To harvest lobsters that are even the slightest bit short endangers them, he testified. 

“We do have an ongoing very serious problem in Long Island Sound,” Simpson testified. “A resource collapse. It’s really our worst nightmare. The concern is if we slip much more, we may not be able to rebuild the stock.”

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN