Feds hit O'Hara with $191,971 in penalties

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports the following cases charged in February:

• C/P Defender — Owner O'Hara Corp. and operator Michael Burgett were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with directed fishing in an Atka mackerel no fishing zone. A $102,137 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• C/P Defender — Owner O'Hara Corp. and operator Dean Slater were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with directed fishing in an Atka mackerel no fishing zone. An $89,834 NOVA was issued.

Trawler trouble

A 10-man team from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Acushnet boarded the trawler Alaska Victory yesterday just south of Amchitka Island and found the crew was "overreporting fish production weights." The 226-foot factory trawler, part of the Fishing Company of Alaska fleet, was fishing for Atka mackerel. The boarding team sent a field report to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which regulates the catch, "so the vessel can be inspected pierside to verify they are following federal reporting procedures," says a Coast Guard press release issued today. USCG photo