Feds detail costly enforcement actions

A federal enforcement report submitted to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council includes these case updates:

• F/V Aldebaran — Operator Terry Fisher was charged under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with assaulting, sexually harassing, and harassing a fisheries observer assigned to his vessel. A $24,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued and the case settled for $21,600.

• C/P Bristol Leader — Owner Bristol Leader Fisheries LLC and operator Joseph Pohl were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with two counts of conducting directed fishing for Pacific cod in Steller sea lion protection areas. A $34,425 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $32,025.

• F/V Magnus Martens — Owner Magnus A. Martens LLC and operator Jeb Phillips were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with operating a vessel in the Bering Sea Pacific cod pot fishery without carrying an operable NMFS‐approved vessel monitoring system and without complying with VMS requirements. A $36,000 NOVA was issued, and the case and the settled for $24,000.

NMFS discloses costly enforcement actions

A federal enforcement report submitted to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council details several interesting cases, including these:

• F/V Alaskan Lady — In an initial decision issued March 7, 2022, Administrative Law Judge Susan Biro found crewman Eliman S. Bah liable, and imposed a civil penalty of $20,000, for sexually harassing an observer in violation of the Magnuson‐Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson‐Stevens Act). Judge Biro found that Bah harassed the observer both by conduct that had sexual connotations, as well as by otherwise creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. The judge's decision followed a two‐day hearing that occurred Sept. 1-2, 2021.

• F/V Magnus Martens — Owner Magnus A. Martens LLC and operator Jeb Phillips were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with operating a vessel in the Bering Sea Pacific cod pot fishery without carrying an operable NMFS‐approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) and without complying with VMS requirements. A $36,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Cape Kiwanda — Owner B&N Fisheries Co. and operators Ronald Weyburn Naughton and Cory Dehning were charged jointly and severally under Magnuson‐Stevens Act with exceeding the Rockfish Program maximum retainable amount (MRA) for pollock in the Gulf of Alaska. In Count 1, a $1,099.58 penalty was assessed against B&N Fisheries Co. and operator Ronald Weyburn Naughton for exceeding the MRA by 15,815 pounds (a 2,869 percent overage), worth $1,099.58. In Count 2, a $6,502.86 penalty was assessed against B&N Fisheries Co. and operator Cory Dehning for exceeding the MRA by 43,746 pounds (a 729.1 percent overage), worth $3,502.86. A $7,602.44 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $6,842.20.

• F/V Silver Lady — Vessel co-owners Hammer & Son LLC and Lonnie R. Chestnut and operator/IFQ permit holder William R. Hammer Jr. were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with unlawfully discarding at least 990 sablefish. A $14,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $12,600.

Who shot this sea lion?

From the National Marine Fisheries Service:

Aug. 9, 2010

NOAA Enforcement seeks information in sea lion shooting

JUNEAU — NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement is asking for the public's help in finding out who shot a Steller sea lion that was found dead on a beach north of Juneau last week.

A thin and lethargic sea lion was first reportedly sighted on Tuesday, Aug. 3, between Amalga Harbor and Boy Scout Beach. It was spotted again in the same vicinity the following day.

The deceased sea lion was discovered on Boy Scout Beach at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 6.

NOAA Fisheries veterinarian Kate Savage performed a necropsy Saturday to determine the cause of death. That's when she discovered a bullet casing in the 1-year-old male's shoulder.

"The probable cause of death is starvation resulting from the injury," Savage said. "The sea lion was unable to forage due to the wound in its shoulder, which was also badly infected."

NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement is asking anyone with information on the shooting to call 586-7225, or the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.

Troopers bust up illegal halibut sales scheme

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Klawock
Type: Selling federal caught subsistence halibut
On 08/06/09, at 1354 hours, Klawock Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Donald Nickerson Jr., age 44, of Klawock, for posting a sign outside the Klawock post office advertising fresh halibut for sale. At approximately 1430 hrs, Klawock AWT caught Nickerson attempting to sell federal caught subsistence halibut from his motor vehicle in Craig. The case was documented by AWT and forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Nickerson Jr. is being charged by NMFS with the illegal sale of federal caught subsistence halibut.