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.

Man pulled another fisherman's gear, troopers say

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Interfere with commercial fishing gear

On 11/17/20 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Michael T. Knauss, 69, of Sitka, for interfering with commercial fishing gear and theft. Previous investigation showed Knauss had pulled another commercial fisherman's longline gear set for sablefish on 10/8/20. Part of the gear was removed from the water and later returned to the victim. Fishing time, fish and labor were lost to the victim.

Two fisheries convictions notched at Ketchikan

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Ketchikan
Type: Conviction
On 2/8/13 James Scudero Jr., 34, of Ketchikan, pled guilty to operating halibut longline gear without a valid Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit. He also pled guilty to attempted tampering with physical evidence. Scudero's sentence included fines totaling $2,400, jail time of 60 days suspended, and 18 months of probation.

Location: Ketchikan
Type: Conviction
On 2/13/13 Thomas George, 57, of Klawock, was found guilty of possessing commercial hand troll gear aboard his power troll vessel. George was fined $2,000 and placed on probation for 12 months.

Cod skipper ticketed over unlicensed crewman

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sand Point
Type: Employ unlicensed crewmember
On 10/8/11 Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers issued a citation to Robert Craig Starr, 47, of Kodiak, for employing an unlicensed commercial fishing crewmember onboard his Pacific cod longline vessel. The fine is $260.

Southeast shrimper hit with multiple violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Craig
Type: Shrimping violations
On 12/4/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Ketchikan Post, cited Dustin Peters, 33, of Ketchikan, for commercially fishing for shrimp during a closed season, for failing to equip his commercial shrimp pots with a biodegradable escape mechanism, and for longlining more than five commercial shrimp pots on one line without having a buoy attached to both ends of the longline. These violations occurred in the marine waters of Moira Sound near Prince of Wales Island. A mandatory court date was set in the Craig court.

Troopers: Gillnetter cut halibut longline at Sitka

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Criminal mischief
On 7/3/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Haines served Brian A. O'Riley, 62, of Haines, a summons for criminal mischief. The charge results from an incident on 6/11/10 where O'Riley intentionally cut off a legal subsistence longline for halibut, just prior to a gillnet opening O'Riley was participating in, inside the Deep Inlet terminal harvest area. The longline was valued at approximately $150. The victim contacted O'Riley with the remnants of the longline still aboard his vessel, then reported the crime to Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post. O'Riley is set to appear on 7/13/10 in the Sitka court.

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial fish closed period
On 7/8/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, observed the F/V Patty Lynn operating a seine net in the Deep Inlet terminal harvest area after the area had closed to seining. Owner and permit holder James R. Vaughan, 47 of Craig, was summoned to Sitka District Court for commercial fishing during a closed period.

Juneau longliners fined over lack of crew license

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: No crewmember license
On 4/12/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers Juneau issued citations to John E. Krossa, 40, of Douglas, for participating in the 2010 commercial longline fishery without a valid 2010 commercial crewmember license, and Robert J. Becker, 38, of Douglas, for employing an unlicensed crewmember. Krossa and Becker were initially contacted during a dockside inspection at Taku Fisheries in Juneau. Each fine is set at $260. An optional court appearance date has been set for May 5 in the Juneau District Court.

Troopers cite longliner for keeping lingcod

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Cordova, Icy Bay subdistrict
Type: Commercial fishing closed season
On 10-04-09, at approximately 1600 hours, Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Cordova Post contacted Randy Kraxberger, age 55, of Port Townsend, Wash. Investigation revealed that Kraxberger had been fishing in a longline fishery for sablefish when he caught and retained approximately 407 pounds of lingcod during a period when lingcod retention was closed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game emergency order. Kraxberger was summoned to appear in Cordova district court for arraignment on 10-28-09.