Oregon man cited over lingcod bycatch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Lingcod bycatch

On 12/16/24 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, cited Kenneth Middleton, 58, of Oregon, for taking lingcod bycatch in the commercial longline fishery during a closed period. Investigation revealed Middleton had landed approximately 1,750 pounds of lingcod in Washington after having taken the fish in the waters of Icy Bay Subdistrict, near Yakutat, in late October. The area had been closed to lingcod harvest by emergency order. The violation was identified and reported by the fish processor. Arraignment set in Yakutat District Court.

Feds report three fisheries enforcement actions

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports these cases charged in November:

• F/V Jennifer Lee — Owner Jennifer Lee Inc. and operator Adam Lee Swanson were charged jointly and severally under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with failing to return halibut discards to the sea with a minimum of injury. An $8,800 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V New Venture — Owner New Venture Fisheries LLC and operator Peter T. Wilson Jr. were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with fishing for Pacific cod in violation of an inseason action, closure or adjustment. $5,031 in seized proceeds were forfeited by abandonment. A $5,750 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $5,175.

• F/V Cape Caution — Operator Kerby Glen Mitchell was charged under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with fishing for halibut in violation of the act's annual management measures. Specifically, he possessed onboard a vessel Pacific halibut that had been filleted, mutilated or otherwise disfigured in any manner. 232 pounds of chunked northern Pacific halibut were forfeited by abandonment. A $2,050 NOVA was issued.

Two cases involving factory trawlers settled

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports the following case resolutions:

• F/V America's Finest — Owner America's Finest Fishing LLC was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear in the Nearshore Bristol Bay Trawl Area when that area was closed to trawling. A $121,984.48 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $41,000.

• C/P Northern Eagle — Owners American Seafoods Co. LLC and Northern Eagle LLC were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to ensure no salmon of any species passed the observer collection point. A $15,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $13,500.

Feds detail three enforcement cases

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports these cases charged in October:

• F/V U.S. Intrepid — Crewman Zedrick Moli (aka Zedrick Allen) was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with harassing and sexually harassing a female fisheries observer. An $18,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Foreigner — Owner Anastasia Basargin and operator Arseny Reutov were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with operating a vessel without an operable VMS (vessel monitoring system). A $7,500 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Ocean Invictus — Owners Ocean Bay Inc. and Kilokak Inc. and operator Robert Graham were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to retain pollock, an IR/IU (improved retention/improved utilization) species, up to the maximum retainable amount. A $5,750 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $5,175.