Sunday, March 21, 2010

Juneau crab crew hit with multiple gear violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Gustavas
Type: Gear violations
On 3/17/10 Sitka-Juneau Wildlife Troopers charged James M. Martin, 80, of Juneau, and crewmembers Kenneth Merculief, 51, Robert Mortell, 47, and Patrick Ellisoff, 47, all of Juneau, for multiple counts regarding gear violations in the Icy Strait commercial Tanner crab fishery. The investigation started 2/16/10 when several of Martin's Tanner pots were inspected. The pots displayed tags that had been sworn to be lost by Martin. Additional gear checks revealed Martin was operating pots which were unmarked, marked with the wrong Alaska Department of Fish and Game number, did not display any Tanner crab pot tag, displayed voided Tanner crab pot tags, did not have escape rings, had escape rings set too high above the bottom of the pot, and had oversize biodegradable cotton. The four men are scheduled for arraignment in Juneau court.

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