Feds detail several enforcement actions

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

• C/P Frontier Mariner — Factory manager Edgar Estuardo De Los Reyes was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with sexually harassing and harassing a female observer. A $9,500 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Cape Horn — Owner Cape Horn Vessel LLC and operator Arthur James McArdle were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of pollock on two fishing trips and failing to timely submit one product transfer report. A $6,042 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $1,638.

• F/V Chellissa — Owner Chellissa Fisheries LLC and operators Robert W. Harrington II and Jerimiah T. Young were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amounts of bycatch in 2023. A $5,500 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Outlook — Owner-operator Nestor Sergei Ivanov and owner Irina Ivanov were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with possessing salmon harvested in Alaska state waters on a vessel commercial fishing for salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone. A written warning was issued.

Federal authorities conclude three cases

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports the following case resolutions:

• F/V U.S. Intrepid — Crewman Zedrick Moli (aka Zedrick Allen) was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with harassing and sexually harassing a female fisheries observer. An $18,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued. The NOVA became a final administrative decision due to default.

• F/V Norse Maid — Operator/IFQ hired master Nick A. Carlson was charged under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with failing to log one fishing trip in the Observer Deploy and Declare System as required. A $4,500 NOVA was issued. The NOVA became a final administrative decision due to default.

• F/V Cape Caution — Operator Kerby Glen Mitchell was charged under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act with possessing chunked halibut in violation of the act's annual management measures. Chunked halibut in the amount of 232 pounds was forfeited by abandonment. A $2,050 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $1,845.

Feds detail three enforcement cases

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports these cases charged in October:

• F/V U.S. Intrepid — Crewman Zedrick Moli (aka Zedrick Allen) was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with harassing and sexually harassing a female fisheries observer. An $18,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Foreigner — Owner Anastasia Basargin and operator Arseny Reutov were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with operating a vessel without an operable VMS (vessel monitoring system). A $7,500 NOVA was issued.

• F/V Ocean Invictus — Owners Ocean Bay Inc. and Kilokak Inc. and operator Robert Graham were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to retain pollock, an IR/IU (improved retention/improved utilization) species, up to the maximum retainable amount. A $5,750 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $5,175.

Observer harassment case ends with $4K penalty

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports the following case resolution:

• C/P Arica — Male assistant cook Jordan St. Martin-Reyes was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with harassing and sexually harassing two female observers onboard a vessel. A $19,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued, and the case settled for $4,000.

Feds detail two cases of observer mistreatment

From the NOAA Office of General Counsel:

• C/P Arica — Male assistant cook Jordan St. Martin-Reyes was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with harassing and sexually harassing two female observers onboard a vessel. A $19,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• C/P North Star — Factory foreman Juvy Bongcawil was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with harassing a fisheries observer by conduct that had sexual connotations or otherwise creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. An $18,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $16,200.

Feds charge observer violations

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

• C/P Cape Horn — Operator Ata Ioapo was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with sexually harassing a female observer by grabbing her buttocks without consent. A $24,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Alaskan Star — Owners Alaskan Star Fisheries LLC, Sunrunner Alaska Corp., and Moriah Fishing Inc., operator Abraham Brendan Sullivan, and vessel manager James Aaron Stevens were charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to log four fishing trips in the Observer Deploy and Declare System. A $12,000 NOVA was issued.

Fines issued in observer sexual harassment cases

NOAA has fined crewmembers aboard two factory trawlers for making sexual advances toward fishery observers.

One fine was $30,000 and the other $55,000.

The two cases are discussed here. The vessels involved are not named.

Crewman to be deported after harassment plea

From the U.S. attorney's office:

Dec. 2, 2010

Crewman sentenced for sexual harassment of fisheries observer

ANCHORAGE — U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a crewman on a fishing vessel was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for sexual harassment of a National Marine Fisheries Service observer.

On Nov. 30, Victor D. Chavez-Ramirez, 28, a citizen of Mexico illegally in the United States, admitted that while a crewmember on the fishing vessel F/V Frontier Spirit, from August 2008 through October 2008, he sexually harassed the NMFS observer assigned to the vessel.

After accepting Chavez-Ramirez's guilty plea, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith sentenced him to be immediately deported, imposed a term of probation of three years and imposed a fine of $1,500.

Smith also ordered him to attend sexual harassment training and ordered that he not obtain employment in any fishing-related industry nor any employment on any fishing vessel for the three-year term of probation. Smith imposed these conditions whether or not Chavez-Ramirez was present in the United States.

Additionally, Smith told Chavez-Ramirez that he could not re-enter the United States without first obtaining the permission of the attorney general or his designee.

During sentencing, the victim observer provided the court with a statement about the offense and its impact on her and how it has interfered with her work as a fisheries observer.

"We will not countenance sexual harassment in any business," Loeffler said. "All people have a right to perform their work free from harassment."

The case was investigated by special agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with assistance from the Enforcement Removal Operations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"We take offenses against observers very seriously," said Sherrie Myers, NOAA special agent in charge for Alaska. "These individuals work very long hours in a hazardous marine environ and they are entitled to work in a safe environment, free from any form of assault, harassment or interference. These type of offenses threaten both the observer's safety as well as their ability to collect biological data that is essential for effective management of the fisheries."

Crewman accused of sexually harassing observer

From the U.S. attorney's office:

Nov. 24, 2010

Fisherman charged with sexual harassment of fisheries observer

ANCHORAGE — U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Mexican citizen was arrested and charged with sexual harassment of a National Marine Fisheries Service observer while on board a vessel; forcible sexual assault of a NMFS observer while on board a vessel; and interference with a NMFS observer while on board a vessel.

Victor D. Chavez-Ramirez, 28, a citizen of Mexico illegally in the United States, is charged in a three-count information.

On Nov. 18, Chavez-Ramirez was arrested in Dutch Harbor by special agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for sexual harassment of a NMFS observer.

At the defendant's arraignment on Nov. 22, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven E. Skrocki alleged that while a crewmember on the fishing vessel F/V Frontier Spirit, from August 2008 through October 2008, Chavez-Ramirez sexually harassed and assaulted the NMFS observer assigned to the vessel and those acts interfered with the observer's ability to collect fisheries data.

During the arraignment proceedings, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Smith denied bail and set trial for Jan. 11, 2011, in Anchorage. Smith ordered that Chavez-Ramirez be detained due to his illegal immigration status and the fact that he had previously fled from a prior deportation matter in 2006 in Washington state.

NMFS, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, conducted the investigation of this case.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Observer fined, banned for harassing colleague

From the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement:

Dec. 17, 2009

NOAA Fisheries observer fined, prohibited from observing for 10 years

A NOAA Fisheries groundfish observer who admitted he sexually harassed and created a hostile work environment for another observer paid $1,000 with an additional $9,000 suspended for five years and was issued a permit sanction that prohibits him from being employed as a NOAA Fisheries observer anywhere in the country for 10 years.

Benjamin Lewis Michlig, originally of Wausau, Wis., and a former employee of Saltwater Inc. and Alaskan Observers Inc., admitted creating a hostile work environment and sexually harassing another observer over a period of several days while they were housed in a bunkhouse in Kodiak, Alaska, in September 2008.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act governs commercial fishing activities within the waters of the United States and authorizes observer programs, such as the North Pacific Groundfish National Observer Program. Observers collect catch and bycatch data from U.S. commercial fishing and processing vessels and play a vital role in providing real-time scientific data for effective conservation and management of fishery resources.

The Magnuson Act also provides heavy penalties for individuals who sexually harass or create a hostile work environment for observers.

"It is important for the entire commercial fishing industry to understand that it does not matter whether you are a vessel captain, crewmember or another observer — if you harass a NOAA Fisheries observer you will be punished," said Special Agent Frank Bonadonna of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement's Alaska Division. "The law is unequivocal and is in place for the protection of observers wherever they may be during the course of their official duties."

These violations were reported to and investigated by NOAA OLE's Alaska Division and prosecuted by NOAA Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation. The $9,000 suspended will be discharged at the end of the five-year period provided Michlig does not commit any violation similar to any of those violations charged in the Notice of Violation.

The mission of NOAA OLE is to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations enacted to conserve and protect our nation's marine resources. To report a suspected violation, contact the NOAA OLE national hotline at 1-800-853-1964.