Two Petersburg fishermen cited

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg

Type: Commercial Dungeness violation

On 7/20/25 Michael Norheim, 27, of Petersburg, was issued two summonses for commercial Dungeness violations. Norheim, permit holder aboard the F/V Hood Point, was found to be in possession of undersized Dungeness crab and utilized Dungeness crab pots that did not meet the requirement for escape rings.

Location: Petersburg

Type: Commercial longline violation

On 7/16/25 Robert Schwartz, 59, of Petersburg, was issued a summons by Alaska Wildlife Troopers. Schwartz, the permit holder and owner of the F/V Zeus, retained over the bycatch limit of lingcod.

Dungeness crabber cited at Petersburg

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg

Type: Unlawful holding of crab

On 1/6/23 Alaska Wildlife Troopers investigated a report of Dungeness crab being held unlawfully aboard a commercial fishing vessel. Investigation revealed Maclane McGrath, 22, of Petersburg, was in possession of commercially caught Dungeness crab after the close of the fishing district. AWT issued McGrath a citation for 5AAC32.031(d)(3) Commercial Fishing Dungeness Crab Landing Requirements with a mandatory appearance in Petersburg District Court.

Petersburg crabber cited over small Tanners

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Retention of undersized crab
On 02/20/21 Jerome Dahl, 54, of Petersburg, permit holder and captain of fishing vessel Rebel Isle, was issued a citation for the retention of undersized Tanner crab.

Petersburg crabber fined $2,000 after trial

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Conviction

On 1/27/21 Jared Bright was found guilty at trial in Juneau District Court. He was given a flat fine of $2,000. On 9/21/20 Bright, 46, of Petersburg, was cited by wildlife troopers for unlawful storage of commercial Dungeness crab gear. The gear was located during a routine patrol by state aircraft.

Petersburg crabber nets $1,500 in fines

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 9/6/16 Paul Korchak, 67, of Petersburg, pled no contest to two commercial Dungeness crab violations. Korchak is the owner and permit holder onboard the F/V Amber Lynn. An Alaska Wildlife Troopers investigation showed that Korchak retained commercially caught Dungeness crab aboard his vessel for more than 24 hours after the closure of the commercial season in Registration Area A (Southeast Alaska). Inspection of the crab aboard his vessel revealed that Korchak also retained undersized crab. Korchak was ordered to pay a total amount of $3,000 with $1,500 suspended and placed on probation for one year.

Petersburg man cited over undersized king crab

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Undersized king crab
On 5/20/16 Yancey Nilsen, 43, of Petersburg, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers for retaining undersized commercial golden king crab. Nilsen, the captain and permit holder aboard the F/V Aleutian Dream, retained and delivered golden king crab that were not 7 inches in width of shell. Arraignment scheduled for 6/14/16 in Petersburg.

Southeast buyers in trouble over fish tickets

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Late fish tickets
On 1/19/16 Gregory Einerson, 64, of Petersburg, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers for not submitting Alaska Department of Fish and Game fish tickets as required. Einerson, the owner and operator of Coastal Cold Storage, failed to submit multiple fish tickets to the department within seven days of the purchase of fish. Arraignment set for 2/23/16 in Petersburg District Court.

Location: Sitka
Type: Fail to submit fish tickets, imprint permit card
On 1/18/16 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Sitka Salmon Alaska Holdings for failing to submit fish tickets within seven days and for failing to imprint a permit card on fish tickets. The violations stemmed from commercial troll-caught king salmon bought by the company in December 2015. Arraignment set for 2/9/16 in Sitka District Court.

Skipper nets $5K fine over king crab takes

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 1/11/16 William G. Wahl, 41, of Bend, Ore., pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of prohibited conduct. The charge was the result of an investigation which revealed Wahl, the captain and commercial permit holder aboard the F/V Victory, unlawfully took approximately 93 red king crab when there was no open season to harvest king crab. Wahl was sentenced to a fine of $10,000 with $5,000 suspended and placed on probation for two years. National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement officers aided in the investigation and pursued several halibut-related charges against a crewmember aboard the vessel.

Assault reported on vessel at Petersburg

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Assault
On 7/23/14 at 0805 hours, the Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of an assault aboard the F/V Favorite. Investigation revealed the 28-year-old captain assaulted a 31-year-old crewmember by grabbing him around the throat with his hands. The crewmember has disembarked the vessel and the investigation is still ongoing.

Petersburg crabber fined for illegal gear storage

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 4/1/14 Kory Versteeg, 30, of Petersburg, the permit holder aboard the F/V Guardian, was convicted of unlawful storage of commercial crab gear. The conviction is a result of an Alaska Wildlife Troopers investigation that showed Versteeg had illegally stored crab gear before the Tanner and golden king crab season in Frederick Sound. Versteeg was fined $2,000 with $1,000 suspended and placed on probation for one year.

Petersburg crabber nets $3K fine, forfeits catch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 4/1/14 Jared Bright, 39, of Petersburg, the permit holder aboard the F/V Obsession, was convicted of retaining undersized golden king crab. The conviction is the result of an Alaska Wildlife Troopers investigation that showed Bright delivered commercially caught golden king crab that were less than 7 inches in width of shell. Bright was convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to pay $8,000 with $5,000 suspended and placed on probation for two years. Bright forfeited the undersized crab to the state of Alaska.

Petersburg man cited over small king crab

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Undersized king crab
On 3/13/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers charged Jared Bright, 39, of Petersburg, the permit holder on the F/V Obsession, with retaining undersized commercial golden king crab. He was issued a summons to appear on 4/1/14 in Petersburg District Court.

Troopers cite Petersburg king crabber

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Unlawful operation of shellfish gear
On 11/22/13 Aaron Miller, 39, of Petersburg, permit holder aboard the F/V Outlook, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers for operating personal use shellfish gear while holding a current registration for the golden king crab fishery. Miller also was cited for no personal use markings on his personal use shellfish gear. Arraignment set for 1/7/13 in Petersburg District Court.

Petersburg man fined over small king crab

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 4/16/13 Jeb Phillips, 25, of Petersburg, pled no contest to possession of undersized golden king crab. Phillips, the commercial permit holder on the F/V Lone Fisherman, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers on 3/17/13 when undersized golden king crab were observed in his delivery to the fish processor. Phillips was fined $3,000 with $2,250 suspended and placed on probation for one year.

Petersburg man in a pinch over small king crab

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Retain undersized king crab
On 3/7/13 Jeb Phillips, 25, of Petersburg, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Petersburg Post, for retaining undersized commercial golden king crab. Phillips was the permit holder on the F/V Lone Fisherman and was contacted in Petersburg during an offload of the crab. Arraignment set for 4/9/13 in Petersburg District Court.

Troopers seize Dungeness gear near Petersburg

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg, Duncan Canal
Type: Dungeness violations
On 8/23/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers onboard the P/V Enforcer inspected commercial Dungeness crab gear inside of Duncan Canal after the area closed to Dungeness fishing at 1159 hours on 8/15/12. As a result, AWT seized gear either stored illegally or illegally fishing during a closed season. Investigations continue.

Tanner crabber nets $1,500 fine, forfeits gear

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Conviction
On 5/18/12 Ben Gross, 38, of Wasilla, pled guilty to a charge of retaining commercial undersized Tanner crab. Gross was fined $6,000 with $4,500 suspended. He also forfeited seized gear and was placed on probation for two years.

Petersburg king crabber accused of illegal fishing

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Commercial fish closed waters
On 5/2/12 Jeremy Jensen, 37, of Petersburg, was cited by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers for fishing in closed waters for golden king crab. Jensen is the permit holder on the F/V Harvester. Arraignment set for 6/6/12 in Petersburg District Court.

Petersburg man stored pots illegally, troopers say

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Illegal gear storage
On 3/6/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Ketchikan Post, cited Marc Severson, of Petersburg, for illegally storing commercial crab pots. This is a mandatory court appearance in Petersburg District Court.

Troopers cite another crabber at Petersburg

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg
Type: Retain undersized Tanner crab
On 2/25/12 Ben Gross, 38, of Wasilla, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Wrangell Post, for retaining undersized commercial Tanner crab. Gross was the permit holder of the F/V Martina, and was contacted while offloading his catch in Petersburg. Arraignment set for 4/4/12 in Petersburg District Court.