Multiple alleged violations draw $53,000 penalty

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports the following case charged in January:

• C/P North Star — Owner North Star Vessel LLC and operators Joshua G. Buchan, Keith Pendleton and purser Harry Smiley were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with failing to comply with the requirements for halibut deck sorting, failing to comply with catch weighing and flow scale requirements, failing to retain video monitoring data for 120 days after the date the video was recorded, failing to return prohibited species to the sea immediately and with a minimum of injury, prohibiting or barring by refusal of reasonable assistance an observer from collecting samples or otherwise performing their duties, intimidating or interfering with an observer, discarding catch, or discarding an observer's collected samples. A $53,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.