Costly conviction for Juneau fisherman

Robert M. Thorstenson, 59, of Juneau, recently was found guilty at nonjury trial of a commercial fishing violation and sentenced to forfeiture of $24,993 for illegally caught salmon, according to court documents.

The original citation said that on Aug. 25, 2019, at Crawfish Inlet, Thorstenson as permit holder on the F/V Magnus Martens fished with seine gear less than 200 yards from a stream mouth in closed waters.

Authorities seized 83,282 pounds of salmon.

Thorstenson originally was charged with a misdemeanor, but the charge was amended as a noncriminal first offense.

Here's the judgment in the case.

Man sentenced in case involving Alaska geoducks

Details in this press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle.

Man sentenced over needless search operation

Here's the press release.

Man draws jail time in Bristol Bay assault

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Naknek
Type: Sentencing
On 3/15/17 Don R. Iodice, 54, of Everett, Wash., was sentenced in Naknek District Court to 30 days in jail in connection with an assault on his coworker and captain of a tender vessel. Bristol Bay Wildlife Troopers received the initial complaint on 7/3/16 while the vessel was in the Egegik commercial fishing district. The court also placed Iodice on probation for two years and ordered him not to return to the fishing grounds in Bristol Bay.

Gillnetters fined, forfeit salmon in Juneau court

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Sentencing
On 7/10/13 the following fishermen pled guilty or no contest in Juneau District Court to commercial gillnet violations in waters north of Juneau:

• Travis A. Bangs, 19, of Wrangell, was fined $1,000.

• Brian R. Vaughn, 50, of Juneau, was fined $1,000 and ordered to forfeit $245 worth of illegally taken salmon.

• Michael T. Wallace, 45, of Lynden, Wash., was fined $3,000 with $1,000 suspended and ordered to forfeit $181.20 worth of illegally taken salmon.

• David M. Williams, 43, of Juneau, was fined $1,000 and ordered to forfeit $1,200 worth of illegally taken salmon.

Three fishermen sentenced at Cordova

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Cordova
Type: Convictions
The following resulted from proceedings on 6/26/13 in Cordova District Court:

• Andrew T. Eckley, 29, of Cordova, was fined $3,000 with $2,500 suspended and placed on a year's probation for commercial fishing during a closed period.

• Konstantin E. Basargin, 38, of Homer, was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended and placed on a year's probation for commercial fishing in closed waters.

• Efim J. Ivanov, 23, of Wasilla, was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended and placed on a year's probation for commercial fishing in closed waters.

Two more draw prison time in Trident theft

Here's a press release from the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage.

Two Sitka trollers fined

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Sentencing
On 3/21/13 Cleveland Eells, 22, of Sitka, pled no contest to one count of commercial power trolling during a closed period. He was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended, and placed on a year's probation. Eells was cited after he was observed trolling over the Cape Edgecumbe-Point Woodhouse line on 3/7/13.

Location: Sitka
Type: Sentencing
On 3/21/13 Mark Bradley, 57, of Sitka, pled no contest to commercial power trolling during a closed period. He was fined $1,500 with $750 suspended, and placed on a year's probation. Bradley, captain of the F/V Unimak, was cited after he was observed trolling over the Cape Edgecumbe-Point Woodhouse line on 3/6/13.

Another defendant sentenced in Trident case

Here's a press release from the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage.

First defendant sentenced in Trident theft case

Here's the press release from the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage.

Juneau fisherman nets $3,000 fine, forfeits fish

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Sentencing — commercial fish closed period
On 12/6/12 Aaron C. Place, 39, of Juneau, pled guilty to one count of operating a commercial gillnet during a closed period in District 11B south of Juneau. Place was fined $6,000 with $3,000 suspended and placed on probation for two years. Place also was ordered to forfeit just over $1,150 worth of illegally taken fish.

Hankins draws probation, $100,000 in penalties

From the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage:

Nov. 15, 2012

Oregon man sentenced for commercial fishing crimes

ANCHORAGE — U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Oregon man was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for two counts of falsely reporting where he caught 31,000 pounds of halibut that he sold in Kodiak in 2007.

Freddie Joe Hankins, 47, of Cove, Ore., was sentenced on Nov. 8 by U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland to fines totaling $25,000, a community service payment of $75,000, and three years of probation on the condition that all his fishing activities be recorded by an onboard electronic vessel monitoring system.

The sentence also requires Hankins to publish in National Fisherman magazine a statement acknowledging his wrongdoing in this case.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, the evidence established that Hankins had caught the halibut in an area where it was illegal for him to fish under the individual fishing quota system, and that he falsely stated in his landing reports that he caught the fish in another more distant but legal area.

Arne Fuglvog, former fisheries aide to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who served a prison term for his fisheries conviction, testified at the Hankins trial that he had fished with Hankins, and that Hankins had previously made similar false landing reports claiming he caught his fish in the more distant but legal area when in fact he caught them in the area closer to port where the fishing was better but where it was illegal for him to fish.

Evidence also showed Hankins was convicted in state court in 2007 for falsifying a landing report to conceal the fact that he had exceeded the allowable bycatch of rockfish.

When sentencing Hankins, Holland found that Hankins had knowingly testified falsely at his trial when he denied he falsified the landing reports, and that this testimony amounted to perjury. The judge found further that Hankins was still "in a state of denial" about having committed the crimes for which the jury convicted him.

Loeffler commends the Office of Law Enforcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the investigation of this case.

Southeast crabber draws 215-day jail sentence

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Sentencing — crab violations, contempt of court
On 8/2/12 James Royal Seymour, 36, of Southeast Alaska, was sentenced in Juneau District Court on a total of eight separate cases involving crimes committed between 2007 and 2011. Included in the crimes were multiple commercial crab violations in Hoonah, Petersburg and Juneau. As a result of failing to appear for multiple court hearings, Seymour also was charged with contempt of court, failure to appear and violating conditions of release. Seymour also had several petitions to revoke his probation filed. In all, Seymour was sentenced to serve 215 days in jail. Seymour has been held at the Ketchikan Correctional Center since May 10, after he was arrested on several outstanding warrants. At that time, Seymour was observed by an off-duty wildlife trooper at the swimming pool and later arrested by Ketchikan city police officers. Seymour commercially fished from the F/V Loyal Lady.

Sitka herring seiner nets $250 fine in 2011 case

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Sentencing — commercial fish closed waters

On 4/26/12 in Sitka District Court, Thomas Stafford, as skipper and permit holder on the F/V Infinite Grace, was found guilty of commercial fishing in closed waters on 4/4/11 during the third opener of the 2011 Sitka sac roe herring fishery. Stafford was fined $1,500 with $1,250 suspended and put on probation. The proceeds of the seized fish ticket are due to be determined on 5/30/12 in a post-sentencing hearing in Sitka District Court.

Several Bristol Bay fishermen plead at Dillingham

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Dillingham
Type: Update — commercial fish closed waters
On 7/12/11 Maximilian Pozdeev, 20, of Homer, pled guilty in Dillingham District Court to one charge of commercial fishing in closed waters. He was fined $3,000 with $2,000 suspended and placed on probation for a period of two years under conditions of committing no other commercial fishing violations.

Location: Dillingham
Type: Update — commercial fish closed period
On 7/12/11 Thomas L. Hoseth, 59, of Dillingham, pled guilty in Dillingham District Court to one charge of commercial fishing in a closed period. He was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended, ordered to forfeit 483 pounds of fish seized during the investigation, and placed on probation for a period of two years under conditions of committing no other commercial fishing violations.

Location: Dillingham
Type: Update — commercial fish closed waters
On 7/12/11 David B. Zielinski, 47, of Seattle, pled guilty in Dillingham District Court to one charge of commercial fishing in closed waters. He was fined $6,000 with $4,000 suspended and placed on probation for a period of two years under conditions of committing no other commercial fishing offenses. The charge against Karl L. Nelson, who was a co-defendant in the case, was dismissed as part of the resolution.

Location: Dillingham
Type: Update — commercial fish closed waters
On 7/12/11 Chad E. Tennyson, 22, of Dillingham, pled guilty in Dillingham District Court to one charge of commercial fishing in closed waters. He was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended and placed on probation for a period of two years under conditions of committing no other commercial fishing offenses.

Location: Dillingham
Type: Update — commercial fish closed waters
On 7/12/10 Michael M. Kelley, 49, of Cordova, pled guilty in Dillingham District Court to one charge of commercial fishing in closed waters. He was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended, and 216 pounds of fish seized during the investigation were forfeited to the state. Kelley also was placed on probation for a period of two years under conditions of committing no other commercial fishing violations.

Halibut guide draws jail time for repeat offense

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Jan. 19, 2011

Ninilchik sportfishing guide's license revoked, jail imposed

HOMER — Arthur C. Aho, a halibut sportfishing guide working out of Ninilchik, was sentenced by District Court Judge Margret Murphy on Jan. 18, 2011, for illegal acts committed while working as a sportfishing guide. Aho was sentenced on two counts of aiding a sportfishing client in the commission of a violation, one count of waste of fish, one count of falsifying his sportfishing guide logbook and one count of retaining a halibut while working as a sportfishing guide with paying clients onboard.

On July 10, 2009, Aho guided two Alaska Wildlife Troopers, acting in a covert capacity, on a halibut fishing trip booked through Ninilchik Saltwater Charters & Lodge. While on the guided sportfishing trip, Aho aided one client in retaining a total of five halibut and a second client in retaining a total of three halibut, in violation of both federal and Alaska state laws. After retaining a total of 12 halibut, Aho allowed the six clients to continue fishing for a larger halibut. When one was caught, he instructed his deckhand to throw back a smaller halibut that had been lying on the deck for 40 minutes. Aho actively fished during the trip and one of the halibut hooked by Aho was retained for his clients. Aho also falsified his sportfishing guide logbook by indicating that the six clients caught two halibut each.

Aho was previously convicted in August of 2006 for aiding a client in the commission of a sportfishing violation during a guided sportfishing trip in 2005. The facts of the 2005 case were nearly identical. In the 2005 case, Alaska Wildlife Troopers booked a covert fishing trip with Catch-A-Lot Charters and Aho was their assigned sportfishing guide. During the tip, Aho allowed one client to hook and retain four halibut and a second client to hook and retain three halibut. Judge Murphy sentenced Aho in that offense to a fine of $5,000 with $4,000 suspended, 30 days in jail with all 30 days suspended and one year of informal probation.

At the sentencing on Jan. 18, 2011, the state argued that sportfishing guides like Mr. Aho, who are given the privilege to make a living off of the resources of this state, act as stewards of the resource as opposed to violators of sport fish and game laws. The people of the state of Alaska should not have to rely upon troopers conducting covert activities to ensure that such guides comply with fish and game laws.

Judge Murphy imposed a composite sentence on the five counts of 90 days in jail with 80 days suspended, a fine of $5,000, 40 hours of community work service and six years of informal probation. Judge Murphy also revoked Mr. Aho's sportfish guide licenses and prohibited him from purchasing a new sportfish guide license for a period of two years. This sentence was crafted to not only deter Mr. Aho from committing similar future violations, but to also deter others from within the community by making it clear that repeated violations of sport fish and game laws, especially those committed for commercial gain, will result in the revocation of one's privileges to work within the guiding industry.

Southeast lodge nets $10,000 fine, probation

The Alaska State Troopers today issued the following press release:

Jan. 13, 2011

Alaska lodge guilty of sale of sport fish

JUNEAU — The Doc Warner's lodge near Juneau received a sentence today following a multiagency investigation beginning in the summer of 2009.

Doc Warner's lodge is an Alaskan limited liability corporation. Investigators with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did an undercover operation at the lodge in 2009. Investigators were fed sport-caught fish as a part of the paid package during their stay. Employees of Doc Warner's admitted that fish fed to clients was sport-caught by other clients and/or employees.

Alaska law provides that no person may buy, sell or barter sport-caught fish or their parts. A violation of this law is punishable as a class A misdemeanor offense and a corporation that violates this law may be punished by a fine of up to $200,000 per offense.

NOAA turned the investigation over to state authorities for further investigation by Alaska Wildlife Troopers and prosecution by the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals.

The Office of Special Prosecutions charged Doc Warner’s Alaska Fishing Inc. with four counts of sale of sport-caught fish for the years 2006-2009.

On Jan. 13, 2009, the corporation entered a guilty plea to one consolidated charge of sale of sport-caught fish in violation of 5 AAC 75.015.

Judge Nave imposed the agreed upon sentence of a fine of $40,000 with $30,000 suspended, informal probation for a period of two years, with the conditions that the corporation commit no new law violations, including fish and game offenses.

Two sentenced in subsistence halibut scheme

From the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage:

Oct. 14, 2010

Restaurant owner, fisherman sentenced for Lacey Act violation

ANCHORAGE — U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler announced that on Oct. 13, a Juneau fisherman and the former owner of a Juneau restaurant were sentenced in federal court in Juneau for violating the Lacey Act by engaging in commercial transactions for halibut that was caught for subsistence purposes.

U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess sentenced David Skrzynski, 58, of Juneau, to 12 months in prison, and Jason Maroney, 39, of Seattle, to 10 months in prison. Judge Burgess ordered that Maroney's imprisonment be served as community confinement.

Maroney, the owner and operator of the former Doc Waters Pub in Juneau, took part in a continuing scheme of purchasing subsistence-caught halibut for resale in the restaurant, a violation of federal regulations. Maroney pled guilty to purchasing subsistence fish from two sources.

Skrzynski, a commercial salmon fisherman, provided fish to Maroney. Skrzynski holds a valid Subsistence Halibut Registration Certificate (commonly known as a SHARC card), which allows him to fish for halibut for subsistence purposes. However, federal regulations prohibit the commercial sale of subsistence halibut.

A second fisherman who provided halibut to Maroney is now deceased.

Maroney pled guilty to transactions involving 4,000 pounds of illegally caught halibut, of which over 3,700 pounds was provided by Skrzynski. Maroney paid over $16,500 for the halibut. Maroney paid $4 to $5 per pound for the fish, significantly less than he would have paid for legally harvested halibut.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Burgess recognized the seriousness of the case by stating that this type of violation "absolutely undermines the National Marine Fisheries Service's ability to manage the fishery."

Loeffler commended the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement, Alaska Enforcement Division, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Skrzynski and Maroney.