WILSON, Circuit Judge:
The Court hereby substitutes the following opinion in place of the opinion which was issued on March 21, 2003.
[1232]*1232David Henson McNab, Abner Schoenwetter, Robert D. Blandford, and Diane H. Huang (collectively the defendants) appeal the convictions and sentences they received after a jury found them guilty of conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering, and Lacey Act violations in connection with the importation, sale, and purchase of Caribbean spiny lobsters from Honduras. The defendants’ main argument on appeal is that the district court erred in determining that the Honduran laws that served as the underlying basis of their convictions were valid and enforceable. The defendants contend that the Honduran laws were invalid, and, therefore, there was no violation of foreign law upon which to base their convictions.1
The defendants’ challenge to the validity of the Honduran laws requires us to undertake our own foreign law determination. Our task is complicated by conflicting representations from Honduran officials regarding the validity' of the Honduran laws. Throughout the investigation and trial, Honduran officials offered support and assistance to the United States government, and both the government and the district court relied upon the Honduran officials’ verification of the Honduran laws. Shortly after the defendants were convicted, the Honduran government reversed its position; it currently refutes the validity of the laws it previously verified. Therefore, we must decide whether our courts are bound by a foreign government’s new representations regarding the validity of its laws when its new representations are issued only postconviction and directly contravene its original position upon which the government and our courts relied and the jury acted. This question is a matter of first impression in this Circuit and apparently the other circuits as well.
For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the defendants’ convictions and sentences.
BACKGROUND
On February 3, 1999, agents of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received an anonymous facsimile, which provided that McNab’s cargo transport vessel, the M/V CARIBBEAN CLIPPER, would arrive in Bayou la Batre, Alabama on February 5, 1999, with a shipment of lobsters containing “undersized (3 & 4 oz) lobster tails, [which was] a violation of Honduran law.” The facsimile further provided that Honduras prohibits the bulk exportation of lobsters and requires that lobsters be packed in boxes for export.
In response to the anonymous tip, NMFS agents consulted the Dirección General de Pesca y Aeuicultura (DIGEPESCA) in Honduras2 regarding the legality of the lobster shipment referenced in the facsimile. The NMFS agents questioned whether the shipment violated the Lacey Act, which makes it unlawful to import into the United States “fish or wildlife [that has been] taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of ... any foreign law.” 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2)(A). In three separate letters responding to the agents’ inquiry, the director general of the [1233]*1233DIGEPESCA described some of Honduras’s fishing laws and confirmed that McNab’s shipment “ha[d] been illegally transported in violation of the Fishing Law, the Industrial and Hygienic Sanitary Inspection Regulation for Fish Products and Resolution No. 030-95.” The director general provided authentic copies of the applicable laws and stated that the DIGEPESCA was ready to support all efforts by the government to prosecute persons who violate the Lacey Act.
In early March of 1999 NMFS agents seized the lobster shipment that was referenced in the anonymous facsimile based upon the director general’s assurances that the lobsters had been exported in violation of Honduran law. Over the next few months, NMFS agents communicated with Honduran officials about the Honduran laws and the legality of the seized lobster shipment. In June of 1999 NMFS special agents and an attorney in the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of the General Counsel met with various Honduran officials from the Secretaria de Agricultura y Ga-nadería (SAG) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The minister, the vice minister, the director of legal services, the director of legal affairs, the secretary general of the SAG, the director general of the DIGEPESCA, and the legal advisor for the Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (SENASA)3 confirmed that the lobsters had been exported illegally without first being inspected and processed. Furthermore, the Honduran officials confirmed that there was a 5.5-inch size limit for lobster tails and that all catches had to be reported to Honduran authorities. The Honduran officials provided certified copies of the laws in question. In September of 1999 NMFS agents inspected the lobster shipment that had been seized earlier in the year. The inspection confirmed that the seized lobsters were packed in bulk plastic bags without being processed and revealed that a significant number had a tail length that was less than the 5.5 inches required by the Honduran size limit restriction. In addition; many of the lobsters were egg-bearing or had their eggs removed.
In March of 2000 two Honduran officials, a legal advisor in the Despacho Ministerial and a SAG legal advisor, traveled to Alabama to meet with government prosecutors and investigators. Both legal ad-visors provided written statements that cited Resolution 030-95 as a valid law regulating the lobster fishing industry. They also described the processing requirements mandated by Regulation 0008-93.4 They further explained that Honduras prohibits the harvesting of egg-bearing lobsters.5 Based upon the NMFS’s investigation and the verification of the applicable foreign laws by the Honduran officials charged with regulating the lobster fishing industry, the government decided to prosecute the defendants for their roles in the illegal importing scheme. Subsequently, the grand jury returned a forty-seven-[1234]*1234count second superseding indictment in September of 2000.6
To determine the validity of the relevant Honduran laws, the district court conducted a pretrial hearing on foreign law in September of 2000. Most of the defendants’ evidence at the hearing pertained to the validity of Resolution 030-95, which established a 5.5-inch size limit for lobsters.7 At the government’s request, the minister of the SAG sent Secretary General Liliana Patricia Paz, the SAG’s highest-ranking legal official, to testify at the foreign law hearing. Secretary General Paz testified as to the validity of various laws and confirmed that Resolution 030-95, Regulation 0008-93, and Article 70(3) of the Fishing Law8 were in effect and legally binding during the time period covered by the indictment. She also explained the means by which a Honduran citizen may seek the invalidation of a resolution in Honduras,9 and she testified that no such proceeding regarding Resolution 030-95 had been initiated at that time. Persuaded by the testimony of Secretary General Paz, the district court found that the government met its burden of establishing the validity of the Honduran laws that served as the predicates for the Lacey Act charges. Shortly after the foreign law hearing, a jury trial was conducted, and the defendants were found guilty on multiple counts.10
After the trial, the defendants filed a number of motions seeking to have their convictions overturned.11 In the motions, they attacked the validity of the foreign laws underlying their convictions, citing recent developments in Honduran law. In preparation for a hearing on the motions, an official from the United States Department of Justice and agents from the NMFS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation traveled to Honduras in early August of 2001 to discuss the defendants’ challenges to the validity of the Honduran laws. They received affidavits from three Honduran government officials, including Secretary General Paz, confirming the va[1235]*1235lidity of the laws the defendants were challenging. They also received an affidavit from the minister of the SAG, stating that those Honduran government officials were authorized to provide advice on the enforcement and validity of the laws. After the hearing, the district court dismissed each of the defendants’ posttrial motions. Thereafter, in August of 2001, the district court sentenced McNab, Blandford, and Schoenwetter to ninety-seven months of imprisonment and Huang to twenty-four months of imprisonment.
After sentencing, the defendants appealed their convictions based, in part, upon their contention that the Honduran laws used as the predicates for the Lacey Act convictions were invalid or void during the time period covered by the indictment.12 In December of 2001 a government attorney and NMFS agents traveled to Honduras to discuss the defendants’ new documents with Honduran officials to prepare the government’s brief on appeal. Once again, the Honduran officials confirmed their prior statements regarding the validity of the Honduran laws.
The defendants raise a number of issues in these consolidated appeals. First, they argue that the scope of the Lacey Act is limited to foreign statutes and that the Honduran resolutions and regulations listed in the indictment were used improperly as predicates for their convictions. Second, they contend that the district court’s interpretation of the Honduran resolutions and regulations was erroneous and that the Honduran laws that served as predicates for the convictions were invalid. Third, McNab argues that the district court abused its discretion by excluding evidence at trial relating to his “knowledge” of Honduran law. Fourth, the defendants assert that the district court made several errors with respect to the jury instructions. Fifth, they contend that the jury’s verdicts were based upon insufficient evidence. Finally, Schoenwetter and Blandford argue that the district court erred in failing to postpone their sentencing and in determining the length of their sentences.
DISCUSSION
I. Scope of the Lacey Act
The first issue we address is whether the phrase “any foreign law” in the Lacey Act includes foreign regulations and other legally binding provisions that have the force and effect of law. The defendants argue that the phrase “any foreign law” should be read to mean foreign statutes and not foreign regulations or provisions that are legally binding. According to their argument, Resolution 030-95 and Regulation 0008-93 do not fall within the scope of the Lacey Act, because [1236]*1236they are not statutes.13 They rely upon what they consider a distinction by Congress between “any law or regulation of any State” and “any foreign law.” 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2)(A). The defendants argue that by failing to include foreign regulations explicitly, Congress intended that only foreign statutes could serve as the basis for a foreign law Lacey Act violation.
In accordance with the plain meaning doctrine, “[w]e begin our construction of ... [the Lacey Act] where courts should always begin the process of legislative interpretation, and where they often should end it as well, which is with the words of the statutory provision.” Harris v. Garner, 216 F.3d 970, 972 (11th Cir.2000) (en banc), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 1065, 121 S.Ct. 2214, 150 L.Ed.2d 208 (2001); United States v. Gilbert, 198 F.3d 1293, 1298 (11th Cir.1999). It is well established that “[w]hen the words of a statute are unambiguous ... [the] judicial inquiry is complete.” CBS Inc. v. PrimeTime 24 Joint Venture, 245 F.3d 1217, 1222 (11th Cir.2001) (first alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Conn. Nat’l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253-54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992) (“[C]ourts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there.”). When, however, “the language is ambiguous or leads to absurd results, ... [we] may consult the legislative history and discern the true intent of Congress.” United States v. Kattan-Kassin, 696 F.2d 893, 895 (11th Cir.1983).14
With this guidance in mind, we examine the language of the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act provides that “[i]t is unlawful for any person ... to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce ... any fish of wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law.” 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2)(A). The Act defines “law” as those “laws ... which regulate the taking, possession, importation, exportation, transportation, or sale of fish or wildlife or plants.” 16 U.S.C. § 3371(d) (emphasis added).
Unfortunately, the statutory definition defines the word “law” by using the word “laws.”15 While the definition is helpful in [1237]*1237determining what the “law” must regulate, it is silent as to whether “law” is restricted to statutes or includes regulations and other provisions that foreign governments use to promulgate legally binding rules. Thus, we turn first to the common usage or ordinary meaning of the word “law” to determine its plain meaning. Cf. Consol. Bank, N.A. v. Office of Comptroller of Currency, 118 F.3d 1461, 1464 (11th Cir.1997) (“In the absence of a statutory definition of a term, we look to the common usage of words for their meaning.”). “[T]o determine the common usage or ordinary meaning of a term, courts often turn to dictionary definitions for guidance.” See CBS Inc., 245 F.3d at 1223.
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary provides several definitions of law, including “a binding custom or practice of a community: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority” and “the whole body of such customs, practices, or rules.” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 659 (Frederick C. Mish et al. eds., 10th ed.1996). Under these broad definitions of the word “law,” the phrase “any foreign law” incorporates the Honduran decrees and regulations at issue. See United States v. 594,464 Pounds of Salmon, 871 F.2d 824, 826 (9th Cir.1989).
On the other hand, there are more narrow definitions of the word “law” that also are commonly used. Black’s Law Dictionary provides several definitions of the word “law,” including one that defines law simply as “[a] statute.” Black’s Law Dictionary 889 (Bryan A. Garner et al. eds., 7th ed.1999). This definition is plausible when the phrase “any foreign law” is read in conjunction with the rest of § 3372(a)(2)(A). For example, the defendants assert that “any foreign law” can refer only to foreign statutes, because to read “any foreign law” to include regulations would render the word “regulation” in the earlier phrase “any law or regulation of any State” meaningless.16
While the defendants advocate this interpretation of the statute, it is not the only reasonable one. Another is that Congress intended to punish violations of state laws and state regulations and to punish violations of foreign laws, whatever form those foreign laws may take. The Ninth Circuit, in explaining why it interpreted “any foreign law” to cover different forms of foreign laws, emphasized how the world’s diverse legal systems defy easy definition or categorization. It noted,
[B]ecause of the wide range the forms of law may take given the world’s many diverse legal and governmental systems, Congress would be hard-pressed to set forth a definition that would adequately encompass all of them.... Thus, if Congress had sought to define “any foreign law” with any kind of specificity whatsoever, it might have effectively immunized ... [conduct] under the Act despite violation of conservation laws of a large portion of the world’s regimes that possess systems of law and government that defy easy definition or categorization.
[1238]*1238594,464, Pounds of Salmon, 871 F.2d at 827-28. In other words, the argument is that Congress specifically chose to limit domestic law to statutes and regulations, but specifically chose to use the language “any foreign law” to cover the wide varieties of laws in foreign countries.
The net result is that there are several reasonable ways to interpret the word “law” in the phrase “any foreign law.” As a result of this ambiguity, we look beyond the language of the statute to determine legislative intent. We thus now look to the legislative history of the Lacey Act to ascertain Congress’s intent. Fed. Reserve Bank of Atlanta v. Thomas, 220 F.3d 1235, 1239 (11th Cir.2000). “In trying to learn Congressional intent by examining the legislative history of a statute, we look to the purpose the original enactment served, the discussion of statutory meaning in committee reports, the effect of amendments whether accepted or rejected and the remarks in debate preceding passage.” Rogers v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 611 F.2d 1074, 1080 (5th Cir.1980).17
The Lacey Act was introduced by Representative John F. Lacey of Iowa in 1900. H.R.Rep. No. 97-276, at 7 (1981) (discussing the enactment of the Lacey Act). Representative Lacey recognized that individual states were unable to protect their wildlife, because their laws did not reach into neighboring states. Id. Thus, he asserted that a federal law was necessary to outlaw the interstate traffic in wildlife illegally taken from their state of origin.18 Id. By 1981 Congress recognized the need to strengthen the Lacey Act in response to “the massive illegal trade in fish, wildlife and plants.” 127 Cong. Rec. 17,327 (1981) (remarks of Senator Lincoln Chafee). Congress thus amended the Lacey Act in 1981 “to correct ... insufficiencies” in the Act and “to simplify administration and enforcement.”19 S. Rep. No. 97-123, at 2 (1981), reprinted in 1981 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1748, 1749.
Although there are certain parts of the legislative history of the Lacey Act that support the defendants’ position to some extent, the legislative history reflects that “the [main] thrust of Congress’s intention in amending the Act was to expand its scope and enhance its deterrence effect.”20 594,464 Pounds of Salmon, 871 F.2d at 828. Indeed, Congress clearly stated that the amendments were meant to strengthen the existing wildlife protection laws and to “provide [the government] the tools needed to effectively control the massive illegal trade in fish, wildlife and plants.” 127 Cong. Rec. 17,327 (remarks of Senator Chafee); see also 127 Cong. Rec. 26,537 (1981) (remarks of Representative John Breaux). The Senate Report provided [1239]*1239that the amendments “would allow the Federal Government to provide more adequate support for the full range of State, foreign and Federal laws that protect wildlife.” S.Rep. No. 97-123, at 4. The amendments were intended to “raise both the civil and criminal penalties of the current laws and target commercial violators and international traffickers.” 127 Cong. Rec. 17,328 (remarks of Senator Chafee). By strengthening the penalty provisions of the Lacey Act, Congress intended “to give the Federal Government stronger enforcement tools to stop the large-scale importation and taking of fish ... which enjoy protection under other foreign ... laws.” Id. at 17,329 (remarks of Senator James Strom Thurmond).
Our examination of the legislative history of the Lacey Act leads us to the conclusion that Congress by no means intended to limit the application of the Act by its adoption of the 1981 amendments. The defendants’ interpretation is untenable, because it would restrict the application of the Lacey Act unduly and would thwart Congress’s stated goal of strengthening the Act by amending it in 1981. See id. at 17,328 (remarks of Senator Chafee). Their narrow interpretation of the phrase “any foreign law” would prevent the wildlife conservation laws of many countries from serving as the basis for Lacey Act violations and would limit the Act’s utility. We therefore conclude that regulations and other such legally binding provisions that foreign governments may promulgate to protect wildlife are encompassed by the phrase “any foreign law” in the Lacey Act.21 See United States v. Lee, 937 F.2d 1388, 1391-92 (9th Cir.1991) (holding that a Taiwanese fishing regulation constituted “foreign law”); 594,464 Pounds of Salmon, 871 F.2d at 828 (holding the same).
As we have determined that the phrase “any foreign law” includes nonstatutory provisions such as Resolution 030-95 and Regulation 0008-93, we now turn to the defendants’ argument that their convictions were based upon the district court’s erroneous interpretation of foreign law.
II. Honduran Laws
The defendants contend that the Honduran laws that served as predicates for their convictions were invalid. Specifically, they argue that (1) Resolution 030-95, which established a 5.5-inch size limit for lobsters, never had the effect of law, because it was promulgated improperly and has been declared void by the Honduran courts; (2) Regulation 0008-93, which established inspection and processing requirements for the lobster fishing industry, was repealed in 1995, prior to the time period covered by the indictment; and (3) Article 70(3), which prohibits the harvesting and destruction of lobster eggs, was misinterpreted by the district court and was repealed retroactively in 2001.
As the defendants were found guilty of conspiracy under a general verdict, there is no way to know which Honduran law the jury relied upon in determining their guilt. Thus, if any of the three Honduran laws that the defendants challenge were invalid during the time pe[1240]*1240riod covered by the indictment, the defendants’ convictions must be reversed.22 See Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 867, 376, 108 S.Ct. 1860, 100 L.Ed.2d 384 (1988) (In criminal cases, “the [Supreme] Court consistently has followed the rule that the jury’s verdict must be set aside if it could be supported on one ground but not on another, and the reviewing court was uncertain which of the two grounds was relied upon by the jury in reaching the verdict.”).
We review a district court’s interpretation of foreign law de novo. United States v. Gecas, 120 F.3d 1419, 1424 (11th Cir.1997) (en banc). Our determination of foreign law is complicated by the posttrial shift in the Honduran government’s position regarding the validity of the laws at issue in this case.23 The Honduran government now maintains that the laws were invalid at the time of the lobster shipments or have been repealed retroactively. Thus, we must decide whether we are bound by the Honduran government’s current position regarding the validity of these laws, or whether we are free to follow the Honduran government’s original position.
As we begin our analysis, we must make clear that the crux of this case is the validity of the Honduran laws during the time period covered by the indictment. Much of the defendants’ arguments focus upon the fact that none of the laws are currently valid; however, their reliance upon the current invalidity of the laws is misplaced. “Although Lacey Act offenses are predicated upon violations of [foreign] law, the statute, nowhere states that a viable or prosecutable [foreign] law violation is necessary to support federal charges. Instead, the Act simply requires that the fish or wildlife have been obtained in violation of any [foreign] law....” United States v. Borden, 10 F.3d 1058, 1062 (4th Cir.1993) (internal quotation marks omitted).24 The reference to foreign law in the Lacey Act is there to define what constitutes illegal conduct. Thus, the subsequent invalidation of the underlying foreign laws does not make the defendants any less culpable for their actions. If the laws were valid in Honduras during the [1241]*1241time period covered by the indictment, the defendants violated the Lacey Act by importing the lobsters in violation of those laws. Whatever changes in the laws occurred after the lobsters were imported into the United States illegally have no effect on the defendants’ convictions.
In a Lacey Act prosecution, once the district court determines the validity of a foreign law during a given time period, it is up to the government to prove that the defendants knowingly violated those laws. United States v. Todd, 735 F.2d 146, 151 (5th Cir.1984). The initial foreign law determination, however, is a question of law for the court. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 26.1. “The court, in determining foreign law, may consider any relevant material or source, including testimony, whether or not submitted by a party or admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence.” Id. Among the most logical sources for the court to look to in its determination of foreign law are the foreign officials charged with enforcing the laws of their country. The district court, in the course of a Lacey Act prosecution, is entitled to rely upon such representations by foreign officials as to the validity of their government’s laws. The court reasonably may assume that statements from foreign officials are a reliable and accurate-source and may use such statements as a basis for its determination of the validity of foreign laws during a given time period.25
When, however, a foreign government changes its original position regarding the validity of its laws after a defendant has been convicted, our courts are not required to revise their prior determinations of foreign law solely upon the basis of the foreign government’s new position. There must be some finality with representations of foreign law by foreign governments. Given the inevitable political changes that take place in foreign governments, if courts were required to maintain compliance with a foreign government’s position, we would be caught up in the endless task of redetermining foreign law.
In this case, the government solicited and received the assistance of the SAG and the DIGEPESCA during the investigation of the legality of the lobster shipments. From the earliest stages of the investigation until after the defendants were convicted, the statements from the SAG were consistent with the government’s understanding of the laws. After the defendants [1242]*1242were convicted, however, certain events in Honduras induced the Honduran government to refute its original statements. The newly issued statements and opinions of Honduran officials, however, do not persuade us that the district court erred in its determination that the Honduran laws at issue were valid and enforced during the time period covered by the indictment.
By our decision today, we do not mean to impinge upon any foreign government’s sovereignty. Honduras has every right to invalidate and repeal the laws at issue in this case. The district courts and the government of the United States, however, have the right to rely upon the Honduran government’s original verifications of its laws. We must have consistency and reliability from foreign governments with respect to the validity of their laws. Otherwise, there never could be any assurance when undertaking a Lacey Act prosecution for violations of foreign law that a conviction will not be invalidated at some later date if the foreign government changes its laws. Acceptance of the Honduran government’s current interpretation of its laws as determinative of the validity of the laws would set the foundation for future Lacey Act defendants to seek postconviction invalidation of the underlying foreign laws. Although such is not the case here, it is not difficult to imagine a Lacey Act defendant in the future, who has the means and connections in a foreign country, lobbying and prevailing upon that country’s officials to invalidate a particular law serving as the basis for his conviction in the United States. Such a scenario would completely undermine the purpose of the Lacey Act. There would cease to be any reason to enforce the Lacey Act, at least with respect to foreign law violations, if every change of position by a foreign government as to the validity of its laws could invalidate a conviction.
Thus, we conclude that the postconviction shift in the Honduran government’s position regarding the validity of its laws is not determinative as to whether the laws were valid at the time the lobsters were imported into the United States. We now examine each law in turn to determine whether each was valid during the time period covered by the indictment.
Resolution 030-95
Resolution 030-95, the law establishing the 5.5-inch size limit for lobsters, provides for sanctions for noncompliance with its terms. See Resolucion No. 030-95, Dec. 5, 1995, La Gaceta, Jan. 4, 1996. The defendants argue that Resolution 030-95 never was a binding law,26 because it was not issued in accordance with Honduran constitutional procedure.
[1243]*1243The basis for the defendants’ argument that Resolution 030-95 never was a valid law is an opinion from the Honduran Court of the First Instance of Administrative Law.27 In May of 2001 the Honduran administrative law court found that Resolution 030-95 had been promulgated through an incorrect procedure and ordered that the resolution was “entirely voided, but this is only for purposes of [its] annulment and future inapplicability: This Resolution does not confer any right to claims.” R. at 5:324 Ex. B (emphasis added). Subsequently, the Honduran Court of Appeals for Administrative Law affirmed the lower court’s decision invalidating Resolution 030-95. R. at 1 Supp.:415 Ex. C.
There are conflicting opinions from Honduran officials as to the effect of the court’s annulment of Resolution 030-95 on the defendants’ convictions.28 While we certainly respect the opinions of the Honduran officials, we base our determination that Resolution 030-95 was valid during the time period covered by the indictment upon the Honduran court’s opinion. The Honduran court clearly stated that Resolution 030-95 was annulled for prospective application only, and we assume that the Honduran court meant what it said. Although we recognize that Resolution 030-95 is now invalid, we see nothing in the Honduran court’s opinion to indicate that the nullification should be applied retroactively.29 In fact, the decision mandates [1244]*1244prospective application.30 Thus, Resolution 030-95 is a valid predicate for the defendants’ convictions.31
Regulation 0008-93
Regulation 0008-93 was issued pursuant to Decree 40 and required that lobsters be inspected and processed in Honduras prior to exportation. See Acuerdo No. 0008-93, Jan. 13, 1993, La Gaceta, Apr. 7, 1993. In January of 1995 the Congreso Nacional enacted Decree 157-94, which repealed and replaced several existing statutes, including Decree 40. See Decreto No. 157-94, Nov. 15, 1994, La Gaceta, Jan. 13, 1995. In December of 1999 the Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente issued Accord 1081-99, an administrative regulation that contained updated inspection and processing requirements and expressly repealed Regulation 0008-93. See Acuerdo No. 1081-99, Sept. 23, 1999, La Gaceta, Dec. 2, 1999.
On the basis of their posttrial research, the defendants argue that Regulation 0008-93 was repealed along with Decree 40 in 1995.32 They contend that the repeal [1245]*1245of Decree 40 operated to repeal the regulations promulgated under it, including Regulation 0008-93. The defendants argue that the automatic repeal of regulations triggered by the repeal of the statute under which those regulations were promulgated is a longstanding principle of Honduran law, and they rely upon a recent interpretive decree by the Congreso Nacional for support. See Decreto No. 198-2001, Nov. 1, 2001. That decree expressly provides that “the express total or partial repeal of a law leaves without legal value or effect the general regulations and the specific regulations totally ... that the Executive Branch through the respective Secretariat of State has issued to implement the provisions of the repealed Law....” Id.
We are unconvinced by the defendants’ argument for two reasons. First, we question why there is a need to issue an interpretive decree if the concept of an automatic repeal of regulations is such a longstanding principle of Honduran law.33 Second, Regulation 0008-93 was repealed expressly by the Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente in 1999 when it issued new rules for lobster fishing. There would be no need to repeal Regulation 0008-93 expressly in 1999 if it was repealed automatically in 1995.
Furthermore, the Honduran Civil Code provides support for the proposition that Regulation 0008-93 remained in effect until the express repeal in 1999.34 According to the Civil Code, a law may be repealed totally or partially by another law. Código Civil art. 42. Such a repeal may be express or tacit; it is express when the new law expressly provides that it repeals the previous one, and it is tacit when the new law’s provisions cannot be reconciled with the previous law. Código Civil art. 43. Significantly, a “tacit repeal leaves in effect in the previous law anything not in conflict with the provisions of the new law, even though both versions may cover the same matters.” Código Civil art. 44. The 1995 decree did not repeal Regulation 0008-93 expressly, which means that any repeal of the regulation was tacit. As Regulation 0008-93 did not conflict with the 1995 decree, it remained in effect until the 1999 regulation expressly repealed it. Thus, the district court properly determined that Regulation 0008-93 was valid during the time period covered by the indictment.
[1246]*1246Article 70(3)
Article 70(3) of the Fishing Law prohibits the harvesting or destruction of lobster eggs. See Decreto No. 154, May 19, 1959, La Gaceta, June 17, 1959. The defendants argue that Article 70(3) does not prohibit the destruction or collection of lobster eggs for profit. They contend that the district court’s interpretation that the law prohibited the harvesting of the egg-bearing species themselves was erroneous.35
We fail to see how Article 70(3) can be read other than to prohibit the destruction or harvesting of the eggs of lobsters for profit. The destruction of eggs to sell the female lobsters appears to be a clear violation of Article 70(3), which provides for punishment by fine or imprisonment to “[t]hose who destroy or harvest the eggs, or the offspring of fish, chelonians or other aquatic species for profit.” Id. The defendants’ argument regarding the legality of capturing egg-bearing lobsters is contrary to the plain language of Article 70(3).36
The defendants also argue that Article 70(3) was repealed retroactively in February of 2001 by the enactment of Decree 245-2000 by the Congreso Nacional. As stated above, our duty with respect to each of the Honduran laws is to determine whether they were valid during the time period covered by the indictment. Whether the 2001 amendment to Article 70(3) repealed the prohibition against harvesting egg-bearing lobsters for profit is not our concern. Thus, we reject the defendants’ argument that Article 96 of the Honduran Constitution requires that we apply the 2001 amendment retroactively for the reasons stated with respect to Resolution 030-95. Accordingly, we conclude that Article 70(3) was a proper predicate for the defendants’ convictions.
Thus, the defendants’ newfound support from the Honduran government does not change the fact that during the time period covered by the indictment, the laws at issue were valid. Although we certainly respect the Honduran government’s position, the recent developments since the trial and the newly rendered opinions from Honduran officials cannot turn what were illegal lobster shipments into legal lobster shipments retroactively.
Having determined that Resolution 030-95, Regulation 0008-93, and Article 70(3) were valid during the time period covered by the indictment and thus were proper predicates for the Lacey Act charges, we now briefly address the defendants’ remaining issues on appeal. The defendants argue that (1) the district court abused its discretion by excluding evidence at trial relating to McNab’s “knowledge” of Honduran law; (2) the district court' made several errors with respect to the jury instructions; (3) there was insufficient evi-[1247]*1247denee to support the jury’s verdicts; and (4) the district court erred in failing to postpone Schoenwetter and Blandford’s sentencing and in determining the length of their sentences. After thoroughly reviewing the record, we find that these issues are without merit.
CONCLUSION
Thus, we conclude that the Honduran laws used as the underlying predicates for the defendants’ convictions fall within the scope of the Lacey Act and were valid and legally binding during the time period covered by the indictment. The remaining issues raised by the defendants were decided properly by the district court or are without merit. We therefore AFFIRM the defendants’ convictions and sentences.