Gear violations ring up fines for two fishermen

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Nome
Type: Update — gear violation
On 5/19/10 Eli Mendenhall, of Nome, was convicted in the Nome Court of four counts of commercial crabbing without employing the use of escape rings. The case was a result of illegally configured pots discovered by Alaska Wildlife Troopers during a patrol in March 2010. Mendenhall was sentenced to fines totaling $2,000 and one year probation.

Location: Valdez
Type: Update — gear violation
On 5/25/10 Tom C. Hoblet, 59, of False Pass, pled guilty in the Valdez District Court to the charge of unlawful gear — escape ring requirements. Hoblet, who is the skipper and permit holder onboard the fishing vessel Aleut Lady, was fined $1,000 with $500 suspended. Hoblet was further placed on probation for one year.

Several Norton Sound crabbing violations alleged

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Norton Sound
Type: Illegal crab pots
On 3/31/10, while on commercial crab patrol in Norton Sound via state snowmachines, Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued two citations to Nome resident Frank McFarland for failing to have proper escape rings in several of his commercial crab pots.

Location: Norton Sound
Type: Employ unlicensed crewman
On 3/31/10, while on commercial crab patrol in Norton Sound via state snowmachines, Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued a citation to Nome resident Johnnie Noyakuk for employing an unlicensed crewman. A citation was also issued to Nome resident Elliot Olanna for failing to have a crewmember license.

Location: Norton Sound
Type: Illegal crab pots
On 3/31/10, while on commercial crab patrol in Norton Sound via state snowmachines, Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued a citation to Nome resident Anthony Shelp for failing to have proper escape rings on one of his commercial crab pots.

Location: Norton Sound
Type: Gear violations
On March 28 and 29, during a commercial crab patrol on state snow machines on the Norton Sound sea ice, Alaska Wildlife Troopers located three unmarked commercial pots, one commercial pot without the required escape rings and one without a sufficient biodegradable escape mechanism. Following further investigation, Frank Carruthers of Nome was issued citations on all five counts.

Juneau crab crew hit with multiple gear violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Gustavas
Type: Gear violations
On 3/17/10 Sitka-Juneau Wildlife Troopers charged James M. Martin, 80, of Juneau, and crewmembers Kenneth Merculief, 51, Robert Mortell, 47, and Patrick Ellisoff, 47, all of Juneau, for multiple counts regarding gear violations in the Icy Strait commercial Tanner crab fishery. The investigation started 2/16/10 when several of Martin's Tanner pots were inspected. The pots displayed tags that had been sworn to be lost by Martin. Additional gear checks revealed Martin was operating pots which were unmarked, marked with the wrong Alaska Department of Fish and Game number, did not display any Tanner crab pot tag, displayed voided Tanner crab pot tags, did not have escape rings, had escape rings set too high above the bottom of the pot, and had oversize biodegradable cotton. The four men are scheduled for arraignment in Juneau court.

Troopers out west find problems with crab gear

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Morzhovoi Bay
Type: Unlawful gear
On 1/17/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers summonsed Benjamin K. Ley, 27, of Columbus, Ohio, for unlawful gear after it was discovered that Ley, who was the permit holder aboard the F/V Alaskan Lady, was commercial fishing for bairdi Tanner crab while using a pot that had a biodegradable escape mechanism higher than 6 inches above the bottom of the pot. Arraignment is scheduled for the Valdez District Court on 2/23/10 at 1030 hours.

Location: Unalaska Bay
Type: Unlawful gear
On 1/20/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers summonsed Donald P. Aus, 58, of Unalaska, for unlawful gear after it was discovered that Aus, who was the permit holder aboard the F/V Good Deal, was commercial fishing for bairdi Tanner crab while using a pot that had a biodegradable escape mechanism higher than 6 inches above the bottom of the pot. Arraignment is scheduled for the Unalaska District Court on 2/10/10 at 1330 hours.

Location: Morzhovoi Bay
Type: Unlawful gear
On 1/17/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers summonsed Alvin J. Newman, 46, of King Cove, for unlawful gear after it was discovered that Newman, who is the skipper and permit holder aboard the F/V Lady Lee Dawn, was commercial fishing for bairdi Tanner crab while using a pot that had escape rings less than the minimum 5-inch diameter. Arraignment is scheduled for the Valdez District Court on 2/23/10 at 1030 hours.

Location: Morzhovoi Bay
Type: Unlawful gear
On 1/17/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers summonsed Tom C. Hoblet, 58, of False Pass, for unlawful gear after it was discovered that Hoblet, who is the skipper and permit holder aboard the F/V Aleut Lady, was commercial fishing for bairdi Tanner crab while using a pot that had escape rings less than the minimum 5-inch diameter. Arraignment is scheduled for the Valdez District Court on 2/23/10 at 1030 hours.

Location: Morzhovoi Bay
Type: Employing unlicensed crewmember
On 1/17/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted the skipper and
permit holder onboard the F/V Aleut Lady, Tom C. Hoblet, 58, of False Pass. Investigation revealed that a member of the Aleut Lady's crew was not in possession of a valid 2010 commercial crewmember license. Hoblet was cited for employing an unlicensed crewmember. Bail was set at $260 for the Valdez District Court.