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 several Alaska enforcement cases

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

• F/T U.S. Intrepid — Owner U.S. Fishing LLC and operator Erin Blaine Moore were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with failing to comply with vessel monitoring system requirements and for failing to submit two product transfer reports as required. A $38,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Alaska Victory — Owner Alaska Victory Inc. and operator David D. Bishop were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to comply with vessel monitoring system requirements. A $36,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $32,400.

• F/V Arica — Owner Arica Vessel LLC and operator John C. Nelson 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 $20,818 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Lady Lee Dawn — Owner-operator Alvin J. Newman Jr. was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to comply with vessel monitoring system requirements. A $10,000 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Pacific Star — Owner Pacstar Inc. and operator John P. McCarthy were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of bycatch on one trip in 2023. A $4,836 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $4,361.

• F/V Dominator — Owner Trident Seafoods and operator Jamie Potter were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of squid and sablefish. A $4,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $3,600.

$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.

Two Sitka men charged in sablefish case

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Sablefish violations

On 9/1/24 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Vincent Peters, 38, of Sitka, transporting processed sablefish fillets up the public dock. Investigation revealed the fillets came from a nearby commercial sablefish vessel. The fish had been harvested under personal use regulations in Chatham Strait on 8/31/24. As a result of the investigation, vessel owner-operator Patrick Crenna, 44, of Sitka, was cited for failing to have a personal use/subsistence sablefish permit, reporting inaccurate information on a permit once obtained, and using an overlimit of pot gear to harvest sablefish. Total bail set at $440 with an arraignment set in Sitka District Court for the overlimit gear charge. Peters was cited for no personal use/subsistence sablefish permit, and overlimit pot gear. Bail set at $220 with an arraignment for the overlimit pot gear charge.

Sablefish harvester cited at Sitka

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Landing permit violation

On 7/23/24 Alaska Wildlife Troopers responded to a report of a vessel offloading IFQ pot sablefish without the proper state of Alaska landing permit. Investigation revealed John Curry, 80, of Washington state, had landed sablefish without the proper CFEC permit. Curry was cited with arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Sablefish harvest overage case resolved

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

• F/V Lea — IFQ permit holder and owner-operator Robert J. Bateman and owner Laura S. Coleman were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with possessing, selling and transporting 5,459 pounds of IFQ sablefish harvested in excess of what the IFQ permit onboard authorized, a 417 percent overage. The proceeds ($11,078.57) of the violation were forfeited by abandonment. A $3,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $2,700.

$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.

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.

Man charged at Kodiak with sablefish overage

Details in this press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

Sitka fisherman charged with sablefish overage

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Quota overage

On 9/23/22 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Marsha Howard, 69, of Sitka, for landing sablefish in excess of the legal equal quota share for the Northern Southeast Inside Subdistrict sablefish fishery. The value of the overage was seized.

Sitka fisherman fined, forfeits $8K in sablefish

More details in this press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

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.

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.

Feds issue $91K penalty in sablefish case

A federal enforcement report presented last week to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council included this item:

F/V Tribute — IFQ permit holder/operator and vessel owners were charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act for intentionally making false prior notice of landing reports and signing false landing receipts to conceal IFQ sablefish violations. A $91,472.00 NOVA (Notice of Violation and Assessment) was issued. Case pends.

Two sablefish fishermen fined, lose catch value

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Sablefish overage
On 2/3/15 Cub Finney, 26, of Juneau, pled guilty to retaining an overage in the 2014 Northern Southeast inside sablefish commercial fishery. Finney was fined $500 and forfeited the overage proceeds of $4,396.73 to the state of Alaska.

Location: Sitka
Type: Sablefish overage
On 2/3/15 Richard Curran, 59, of Sitka, pled no contest to retaining an overage in the 2014 Northern Southeast inside sablefish commercial fishery. Curran was fined $500 and forfeited the overage proceeds of $3,343.45 to the state of Alaska.

Juneau sablefish harvester cited

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Sablefish overlimit
On 2/5/15 John C. Phillips, 56, of Juneau, was cited for retaining an excessive overage of commercially taken sablefish. Phillips retained 1,228 pounds (12 percent) over the quota set by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arraignment set for 2/24/15 in Petersburg District Court.

Troopers cite Juneau sablefish fisherman

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Exceed sablefish quota
On 1/25/15 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Cub C. Finney, 26, of Juneau, for retaining more commercially taken sablefish than allowed under Department of Fish and Game guidelines. Arraignment set for 2/3/15 in Sitka District Court.

Chatham Strait sablefish harvester charged

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Chatham Strait
Type: Sablefish overage
Information from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and fish tickets indicated Richard Curran, 58, of Sitka, had unlawfully retained more sablefish in the Chatham Strait directed fishery than the annual amount of equal share quota specified. Curran took 11,042 pounds of sablefish when his quota was 9,679 pounds (a 14 percent overage). The value of the overage is $3,343.45. Curran was issued a citation to appear in court.

Sablefish harvester cited at Dutch Harbor

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Dutch Harbor
Type: Failure to register
On 10/15/12 Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers issued a summons to George Martushev, 25, of Mt. Angel, Ore., for commercial sablefish fishing in state waters without having his vessel registered with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for the state waters sablefish fishery. Arraignment set for 11/14/12 in Unalaska District Court.

Black cod fisherman cited over lack of permit card

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Seward
Type: Permit violation
On 10/7/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Seward Post, issued a summons to Donald Eugene Bridges, 54, of Anchorage. Investigation revealed that Bridges, while commercial fishing on the F/V Currency, did catch and retain 3,242 pounds of black cod without having a required Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit card for black cod. Arraignment set for 11/6/12 in Seward District Court.