stop signs are "there for a reason" too, but don't tell me you never ran one!! you can't agree with every law. after all, lots of laws are passed based on politics, not objective reasoning.
even though you are right about him knowing the risk, why are you
glad "justice is served"?
these fish will likely be killed now, is that justice?
if he wasn't caught, they would go to happy healthy homes and probably have a chance to breed (i assume this because anyone buying a fish with that price tag is probably going to care for it well).
i think it's stupid for anything to be outright banned. if you can prove yourself a responsible owner, you should be able to keep them.
captive breeding takes pressure off of wild stock and a reasonable permit application will ensure the animals go to responsible owners.
america was founded by complainers, complainers complaining about their government! complaining is how things get improved upon. this is the beauty of our democratic republic; if we don't like it, we can change it. that's why we choose to live here.