Guide cited in use of king salmon as bait

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Ketchikan
Type: Aid sportfish client in violation
On 6/9/13 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Ketchikan Post, issued a summons to Sean Falconer, 45, of El Sobrante, Calif., for aiding a sportfish client in illegally using the edible portions of a sport-caught king salmon as bait. Falconer is a registered sportfishing guide for Yes Bay Lodge. Falconer must appear on 6/26/13 in Ketchikan District Court.

Sportfish guide in trouble over claims of tuna, whale and other exotic catches on Kasilof River

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Soldotna
Type: Logbook violation
On 12/10/12 the Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Soldotna issued a summons to Matthew P. Terry, 21, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., for failure to complete logbook as required by Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Terry submitted freshwater logbook pages that indicated he had taken the following species from the Kasilof River: Chupacabra, Tuna, Jack Beluga and Blue Whales. Bail was set at $210 or optional court appearance into the Kenai District Court within 30 days.

Sitka lodge owners fined after guilty pleas

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Plea — false statement on license application
On 11/6/12 Thomas C. Ohaus, of South Dartmouth, Mass., pled guilty in Sitka District Court to four counts of making false statements on sportfish licenses. Ohaus was fined $4,000 with $1,500 suspended, ordered to pay $3,165 in restitution to the state, and placed on one year probation. His sportfish license was revoked for one year, with the revocation suspended as a condition of probation.

Location: Sitka
Type: Plea — false statement on license application
On 11/6/12 Charles McNamee, of Nevis, Minn., pled guilty in Sitka District Court to four counts of making false statements on sportfish licenses. McNamee was fined $4,000 with $1,500 suspended, ordered to pay $3,165 in restitution to the state, and placed on one year probation. His sportfish license was revoked for one year, with the revocation suspended as a condition of probation.

Click here for a previous report on these cases.

Sitka lodge owners accused of lying on license applications; Ohaus heads charter organization

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: False statement on sportfishing license
On 5/25/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, cited Thomas C. Ohaus, 59, of South Dartmouth, Mass., for multiple violations related to claiming residency on sportfishing licenses. Investigation revealed Ohaus, a sportfish guide and co-owner of a sportfishing lodge, falsely obtained Alaska resident licenses since at least 2007 while residing in Massachusetts. Ohaus is charged with five counts of knowingly making a false statement on an application for a sportfish license. Arraignment is set in Sitka District Court.

Location: Sitka
Type: False statement on sportfishing license
On 5/25/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, cited Charles A. McNamee, 36, of Nevis, Minn., for multiple violations related to claiming residency on sportfishing licenses. Investigation revealed McNamee, a sportfish guide and co-owner of a sportfishing lodge, falsely obtained Alaska resident licenses since at least 2007 while residing in Minnesota. McNamee is charged with five counts of knowingly making a false statement on an application for a sportfish license. Arraignment is set in Sitka District Court.

Ohaus and McNamee are co-owners of Angling Unlimited, a Sitka lodge that runs halibut and salmon sportfishing charters. Ohaus is president of SEAGO, a nonprofit organization representing the Southeast Alaska charter industry. The two men have an arraignment date of June 26.

Sitka men fined for sportfish guiding violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Conviction — sportfish guiding offenses
On 3/7/12 Robert L. Warren and Michael R. Keating, both of Sitka, pled guilty in Sitka District Court to sportfish guiding offenses. Warren, a sportfish guide for Big Blue Charters, pled guilty to one count each of failing to register a charter vessel and failing to obtain a sportfish guide logbook. He was fined a total of $2,250 with $1,500 suspended and placed on probation for one year. Keating, the owner of Big Blue Charters, pled guilty to one count of aiding in the commission of a violation by an employee. Keating was fined $2,500 with $1,000 suspended and was placed on probation for two years. An additional count of aiding in the commission of a violation was dismissed. Keating's sportfish guide license was revoked for one year with the revocation suspended as a condition of probation. The charges stemmed from observations and investigation by Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, and Sitka-based National Marine Fisheries Service officers, who observed Warren complete a guided sportfishing trip with four clients on an unregistered charter vessel, in August 2011. Further investigation revealed Keating assisted with the violation by supplying his employee with a vessel he knew to be unregistered for sportfish guiding.

Troopers ticket sportfish guide over logbook

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Cordova
Type: Sportfish guide logbook violation
On 2/5/12 Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Cordova Post contacted Andrew Mezirow, 47, of Seward. Investigation revealed that Mezirow had not submitted a sportfish logbook page during the 2011 season in the manner and timeframe specified in the logbook. Bail is set at $210 in Seward District Court.

Sportfish guide fined $5,000 for unlicensed trips

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Juneau
Type: Sportfish guiding without license
On 1/4/12 in Juneau District Court, Joel Duby, 27, of Washington, pled guilty to one count of sportfish guiding without a guide license during 2007. Duby was fined $5,000 and may not apply for an Alaska sportfish or guide license for one year. Charges stemmed from a joint investigation between the Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into a Juneau-based sportfishing company. During the investigation it was found that Duby had guided several trips during May of 2007 on the charter vessel Brody out of Auke Bay during which time he did not possess a valid 2007 sportfish guide license.

Southeast charter guide fined $520 after plea

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Gustavus
Type: Conviction
On 8/25/11 Steve E. Petty, 42, of Gustavus, entered a no contest plea in Hoonah District Court to one count of failing to carry proof of a sportfish charter business license and one count of making a false statement on his 2011 sportfish license. Petty was initially contacted as he actively guided paying sportfish charter clients near Goose Island in Icy Strait on 7/16/11. Petty was fined a total of $520 for both offenses.

Guide said no catch but lied, troopers charge

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Cordova
Type: Logbook falsification
On 6/1/11, while performing a sportfish guide investigation, Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Cordova Post found that Randy C. Wells, 35, of Moose Pass, made a false statement when he submitted a 2010 sportfish logbook page on 8/2/10 stating that no fish were caught or retained by paying clients aboard the charter vessel Rogue when in actuality seven pelagic rockfish, 15 coho salmon and eight halibut were caught and retained. Wells was summoned to appear on 6/21/11 in Seward District Court for arraignment.

Sitka sportfish guide fined over lack of license

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Sportfish guide without proper license
On 5/28/11 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Lucas Nesbet, 23, of Sitka, near Cape Edgecumbe. Nesbet was actively guiding sportfish clients without his sportfish license and related sportfish guide documents in possession. Nesbet was fined $210 and given an optional court appearance within 30 days in Sitka District Court.

Sitka sportfish guide sentenced for repeat offenses

Here's a press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

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.

Charter guide accused of allowing client violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka, Yakobi Island
Type: Sportfish guide violations
On 6/9/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers on board the P/V Enforcer issued a summons to sportfish charter guide William T. Akens, 37, of Summerland, Calif., for allowing clients to commit violations. Investigation showed Akens guided four clients without proper 2010 nonresident sportfish licenses in possession. Akens also was unable to provide for inspection a valid copy of the sportfish charter business license. Arraignment is set for 6/29/10 in the Sitka District Court.

Charter firm fined $60,000, seized boats returned

From the Alaska Department of Public Safety:

April 20, 2010

Elfin Cove Charter Operator Fined for Sportfishing Violations

SITKA — Elfin Cove Eagle Charters Alaska LLC, an Elfin Cove fishing charter corporation, was sentenced today in Sitka in connection with numerous sportfishing violations from a 2009 undercover investigation.

Vancouver, Wash., resident Joe Kulavik, the owner and operator of Elfin Cove Eagle Charters, entered a guilty plea on behalf of the corporation to one consolidated count of sportfish guide violations.

The corporation was fined $150,000 with $90,000 suspended, informal probation for a period of three years, with the conditions that the corporation commit no new fish and game violations and obey all court orders. Four boats used to commit violations had been seized during the investigation. As part of the plea agreement, the state agreed to return the four vessels that were seized.

In August and September of 2009, Alaska Wildlife Troopers conducted an investigation into the charter company where troopers witnessed violations committed by four separate charter captains employed by the corporation.

The violations included sportfishing guides fishing for and retaining halibut, the overlimit taking of salmon and halibut, fishing an excess number of rods, waste of sport-caught fish, use of sport-caught fish for bait, failure to retain nonpelagic rockfish and failure to accurately record the daily catch in the guide's saltwater logbook.

All of the above offenses are class A misdemeanor offenses that carry a maximum fine of $200,000 per count with respect to corporate liability.

The AWT Wildlife Investigations Unit received assistance from the Department of Law, Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement in Juneau; game wardens with the Washington Division of Fish and Wildlife; game wardens with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks; and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Bureau of Investigation.

Southeast guide convicted of shrimping violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Update — conviction
On 4/2/10 Kurt J. Whitehead, 39, of Klawock, pled guilty in Sitka District Court to two counts of sportfish guide assisting a client in a violation. Whitehead was fined $1,500 with $500 suspended on each count. In addition, he was placed on probation for two years and the shrimp pot gear used in the violation was forfeited to the state of Alaska. The charges were the result of an investigation beginning in June 2009 by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers during which it was discovered that Whitehead was providing sportfish guide service to two clients who operated shrimp pots from his vessel and used shrimp pot gear which had no biodegradable escape mechanism and in which he was using prohibited species as bait.

Charter operator convicted of logbook violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Seward
Type: Sportfish guide violations x 20
On 6/22/09 Jeffrey P. Barney, 38 yoa, of Anchorage, owner/operator of Silverado Deep Sea Charters, was convicted of 20 counts of failing to comply with sportfish guide logbook requirements of Alaska Statute 16.40.280(b). He was fined $500 per count with a cumulative fine of $10,000 with $3,500 suspended and one year probation. He is required to commit no fish and game violations and pay all fines on time throughout his probation. Additionally, he was required to pay restitution in the amount of $1,030 to a party of four nonresident clients ... after failing to provide a sportfishing charter as contracted.

Your papers, please

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Resurrection Bay
Type: Guide violation
On 5/29/09, Andrew J. Agloinga, 34 yoa, of Seward AK, was cited by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Seward Post, for failing to have the required documents while sportfish guiding. Bail was set at $210.

Sportfish guide cited

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Petersburg, AK
Type: Fail to Complete Logbook
On 5-18-09 Alaska Wildlife Troopers on board the patrol vessel Enforcer cited sportfish guide Kurtus Blades, age 25 of Sitka, for failing to complete a saltwater charter logbook. Blades was contacted on board the charter vessel Sikumi at the Baranof Warm Springs dock and was found to be on a multiple day charter. It was found that the clients on board the vessel had fished on 5-14-09 while on the Sikumi and Blades failed to complete a logbook for the fishing activity as required. Blades was given an optional court appearance date of 6-4-09 in the Juneau District Court.