Penalties issued in two federal enforcement cases

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

• F/V Baranof — Owner Romanzof Fishing Co. LLC and operator Reynaldo Rubalcava were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with failing to maintain a current NMFS-approved flow scale and video monitoring system for Pacific cod. A $15,176 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Northern Endurance — Owner F/V Northern Endurance LLC and operator Michael McKee II were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act for discarding IFQ sablefish and rockfish, failing to report discards, and failing to submit Daily Fishing Log sheets to OLE. A $16,500 NOVA was issued.

$8,250 penalty assessed in sablefish discards case

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

• F/V Mirage — Owner JJ Mirage LLC and operator Jeffrey Turner were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with illegally discarding IFQ sablefish caught with fixed gear when any IFQ permit holder aboard held unused sablefish IFQ and with failing to record discard information in their vessel's Daily Fishing Logbook. An $8,250 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Feds detail three enforcement cases

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

• F/V Evie Grace — Owner Evie Grace Fisheries LLC and operator Robert B. Langdon were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with observer sampling interference, unlawful discard of a Rockfish Program species, and with exceeding maximum retainable amounts of bycatch in 2022 and 2023. A $35,918 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $33,368.

• F/V Gambler — Owner Gambler Tendering LLC and operator Kyle Potter were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with operating a vessel without transmitting from a vessel monitoring system when required, and with catching and retaining Pacific cod from waters adjacent to the Gulf of Alaska without all required designations and/or endorsements, and/or when directed fishing for Pacific cod was not open. A $29,621.38 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Unimak — Owner Unimak Vessel LLC and operator David L. Ostrom were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of pollock on one fishing trip and failing to timely submit one product transfer report. A $4,514 NOVA was issued.

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.

Halibut discards case settles for $39,600

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

• F/V Intrepid — Owner F/V Intrepid LLC and operator Alexey P. Fefelov 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. A $49,500 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $39,600.

$49,500 penalty issued in halibut discards case

The NOAA Office of General Counsel reports the following case charged in June:

• F/V Intrepid — Owner F/V Intrepid LLC and operator Alexey P. Fefelov 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. A $49,500 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

$26,500 fine issued over sablefish discards

The NOAA Office of General Counsel reports the following Alaska case charged in September:

• F/V Jean C — Owners Moderation Enterprises Inc., G&W Fish Co., Strom Enterprises LLC, and operators and IFQ permit holders Harley Ethelbah and John Young were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with illegally discarding IFQ sablefish caught with fixed gear when an IFQ permit holder onboard held unused sablefish IFQ and with failing to record discard information in the daily fishing log. A $26,500 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Sablefish, halibut fisherman hit with $78K penalty

This federal report to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council includes this enforcement action, among others:

F/V Anita — Owner F/V Anita LLC and operator Jay Gillman were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with unlawfully discarding IFQ sablefish and IFQ halibut, failing to report discards, failing to retrieve gear in a timely manner, and failing to register an IFQ fishing trip in the Observer Deploy and Declare System. A $78,250 notice of violation and assessment was issued.