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.

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.

Peter Pan warned over rockfish exceedance

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports this case charged in July:

• Shoreside processor owner Peter Pan Seafood-King Cove LLC and managers Colby B. Boulton, Trevor Milich and Ryan Piliae were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum commerce allowance amount for rockfish. A written warning was issued.

Feds detail several enforcement actions

The NOAA Office of General Counsel reports the following Alaska cases charged in May:

• F/V Pacific Star — Owner Pacstar Inc. and operator John P. McCarthy were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act for interfering with the sampling procedure employed by an observer by discarding catch before sampling. A $3,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Farrar Sea — Owner RLB Vessel LLC and operator James Carl Wilson were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to log four fishing trips in the Observer Deploy and Declare System. A $5,750 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $5,175.

• F/V Marathon — Owner Marathon Fisheries Inc. and operator Martin Stam were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of groundfish bycatch on two trips. A $4,105.33 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $3,694.79.

• F/V Saga — Owner Inter-Cooperative Exchange and operator Jakob Anderson were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with making an IFQ crab landing without holding a crab IFQ permit or a crab IFQ hired master permit issued under their name. A written warning was issued.

• F/V Dawn — Owner Dawn Fisheries LLC and operator Matthew Rohde were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amounts of redstripe rockfish and silvergray rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska. A $5,119.68 NOVA was issued.

Excess cod, rockfish retention draws $10K penalty

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

• F/V Mar Del Norte — Owner North Sea Fisheries LLC and operator Robert W. Harrington were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of Pacific cod and rockfish. A $10,690 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Sitka fisherman accused of reporting violation

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Fish ticket

On 11/18/23 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Casey DiGennaro, 39, of Sitka, regarding rockfish left aboard his vessel following a commercial salmon offload. DiGennaro was cited for failing to report all fish taken on a fish ticket as required.

Processor OBI settles case for $10,800

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

• Shoreside processor OBI Seafoods LLC and plant manager James Nelson Turner were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with exceeding the applicable rockfish program processing cap for sablefish by 4,987 pounds, a 1.4 percent overage. A $12,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $10,800.

Rockfish fisherman sentenced to probation

Details in this press release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Federal grand jury indicts rockfish fisherman

Steven Carr, fishing out of Kodiak, in 2008 caught 761,421 pounds of Pacific Ocean perch worth more than $120,000.

Trouble was, he lied about where he caught the fish, say federal authorities who today announced Carr's indictment.

Read more details here.