Troller fished illegally at Sitka, troopers say

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Commercial fish closed period

On 3/27/23 at approximately 1430 hours, Alaska Wildlife Troopers observed the F/V Marcia K commercial trolling in closed waters near Cape Edgecumbe in Sitka. Investigation revealed Shane Cook, 49, of Craig, was fishing in an area closed by emergency order. Cook was cited for commercial fishing in a closed period.

Pelican troller nets $12,000 fine

Details in this press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

Troller nets $1,250 fine at Sitka

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Yakobi Island
Type: Commercial troll closed waters
On 11/7/17 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, cited Eric Mckee, 34, of California, for commercial trolling in a "high abundance king salmon area" offshore of Yakobi Island, while the area was closed. The citation was related to a violation observed 7/17/17 by AWT. Mckee pled no contest to the charge on 11/21/17 in Sitka District Court. He was fined $2,500 with $1,250 suspended and placed on probation for one year.

Sitka troller cited, six king salmon seized

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial fish closed period
On 5/26/16 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted the F/V Hunter Bay commercial trolling for king salmon in the Western Channel area of Sitka Sound when that area was closed to commercial trolling. Permit holder James LeCrone, 47, of Sitka, was issued a summons to appear in court and six king salmon were seized.

Troopers cite Ketchikan salmon troller

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Ketchikan
Type: Commercial fish closed season
On 4/29/16 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Aaron Anderson, 30, of Ketchikan, for commercial trolling for salmon in the West Clarence Strait management area when the season was closed. The charge requires a mandatory appearance in Ketchikan District Court.

Troller fined, charge against crewman dropped

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial fish closed period
On 2/8/16 Braden Jay pled guilty in Sitka District Court after a plea agreement was reached with the Juneau District Attorney's Office. In exchange for a guilty plea the charge against deckhand Justin Swindler was dismissed. Jay was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of $4,000 with $2,000 suspended, 30 days in jail with 30 days suspended, and two years of probation. The proceeds of the seized king salmon were forfeited to the state. On 6/30/15 Alaska Wildlife Troopers patrolling the summer troll fishery observed the F/V Brena in the area of Puffin Bay engaged in fishing. Investigation revealed Jay, 28, and deckhand Swindler, 33, both of Sitka, were attempting to catch king salmon prior to the legal opening of the season. Five king salmon were seized and both men were cited for fishing in a closed period.

Sitka troller charged with DUI

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: DUI watercraft
On 1/2/16 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Kelly Durgan, 54, of Sitka, during a routine commercial salmon troll boarding at Eliason Harbor. Investigation revealed Durgan was operating the F/V Satellite, a 45-foot commercial troller, under the influence of alcohol and prescription medications. Durgan was arrested for DUI and remanded to the Sitka jail.

Troller kept undersized kings, troopers say

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Possess undersized king salmon
On 12/28/15 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted the fishing vessel Pacific Pearl during an offload of commercial troll-caught king salmon. Investigation showed that permit holder Maxwell L. Royall, 26, of Sitka, had retained five undersized king salmon. He was cited for possession of undersized king salmon with an arraignment set in Sitka District Court. The undersized fish were seized. Royall also was cited for employing an unlicensed crewman.

Juneau man charged with trolling in closed area

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Hoonah
Type: Commercial fish closed area
On 6/23/15 Thomas T. Emerson, 24, of Juneau, was cited for operating commercial troll gear in a closed area. Emerson was observed by state aircraft trolling near Point Couverden when that area was closed. Arraignment set for 7/15/15 in Hoonah District Court.

Sitka fisherman fined in unlawful sales case

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Conviction
On 6/16/15 Matthew L. Wilson, 57, of Sitka, pled guilty in Sitka District Court to two misdemeanor counts each of unlawful commercial fishing practices and filing a false fish ticket. Wilson was fined $4,000 with $1,500 suspended, ordered to pay joint restitution with a separate defendant, and placed on probation for two years. Two charges of unlawful possession of commercial fish were dismissed. The case resulted from a 2014 investigation which showed Wilson sold king salmon on at least two occasions from another fisherman who was not licensed to fish commercially. Wilson also falsely reported taking the fish himself as well as misreporting the areas the fish were taken.

Troopers twice ticket Sitka salmon troller

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial troll closed waters
On 5/13/15 troopers patrolling the waters of Sitka Sound in a state aircraft observed the F/V Saturday fishing more than two-tenths of a mile into closed waters. Investigation revealed Bradley Anderson, 31, of Sitka, and Kristopher Foster, 39, of Sitka, were the captain and deckhand aboard the vessel. Both men admitted fishing in the area and denied any knowledge the area was closed to commercial fishing. Anderson was issued a misdemeanor summons. Foster was issued a minor offense citation.

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial troll closed waters
On 5/23/15 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, cited Bradley Anderson, 31, of Sitka, after an investigation showed he was fishing on 5/3/15 more than two miles into an area not open to commercial trolling. Anderson is the permit holder and operator of the F/V Saturday. Arraignment set for 6/9/15 in Sitka District Court.

Troopers cite Sitka troller

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial troll closed period
On 5/3/15 at approximately 0820 hours, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, responded to a complaint of unlawful fishing by vessels participating in the commercial troll fishery in Sitka Sound. Troopers contacted the F/V Shelley J operating commercial power troll gear in waters not open to commercial fishing. Terry L. Friske, 66, of Sitka, the owner and operator of the vessel, was cited for trolling during a closed period, with arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Troller fined after conviction in Sitka court

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Conviction
On 4/2/15 Courtney Howard was found guilty at a bench trial in Sitka District Court on one count of commercial trolling during a closed period. Howard was fined $1,500 with $1,100 suspended and placed on probation for one year. Howard, 31, of Sitka, was cited after his power troll vessel, F/V Nordic Lass, was observed by troopers operating gear west of the Sitka Sound winter troll line on 2/24/15.

Troopers cite Sitka troller

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Commercial troll closed period
On 3/1/15 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Courtney J. Howard, 31, of Sitka, after his commercial power troll vessel, F/V Nordic Lass, was observed by troopers operating gear west of the Sitka Sound winter troll line on 2/24/15. Arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Sitka salmon troller cited twice

Location: Shelikof Bay, Sitka
Type: Commercial troll closed area
On 8/23/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted Jeffery M. Farvour, 45, of Sitka, commercial power trolling off of Cape Edgecumbe. Investigation showed Farvour was operating gear from the F/V Suunta within one nautical mile of the Kruzof Island shoreline in the "areas of high king salmon abundance" which are closed during the coho commercial troll fishery by emergency order. Farvour was cited with arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Location: Sitka
Type: Possess king salmon during closure
On 8/12/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Jeffery M. Farvour, 45, of Sitka, after investigation revealed that Farvour possessed and delivered three king salmon onboard his vessel, the F/V Suunta, during the commercial troll king salmon closure. The kings were reportedly misidentified as another legal species. Arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Troller charged with fishing in closed waters

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka Sound, Biorka Island
Type: Commercial fish closed period
On 6/9/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers observed the F/V Three Daughters commercial power trolling west of the Biorka spring troll area boundary. The permit holder and operator, Paul J. Peters, 63, of Haines, was cited for commercial trolling during a closed period. Arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Yakutat troller lacked permit, troopers say

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Yakutat
Type: Commercial fish without valid permit
On 4/29/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Yakutat cited Kevin Firestack, 48, of Wasilla, for commercial salmon trolling without a valid commercial troll permit. Investigation revealed Firestack caught and sold fish on three different occasions in January using a commercial setnet permit while he was partaking in the winter king troll fishery in Yakutat. Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission records revealed Firestack did not have a valid permit during the dates the fish were caught and sold.

Sitka troller charged with sportfishing violation

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka Sound
Type: Sportfishing from commercial vessel
On 5/11/14 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, contacted Roy E. Uber, 34, of Sitka, while he was sportfishing in western Sitka Sound. Investigation revealed that Uber and his vessel are currently licensed to participate in commercial hand troll fisheries and that he was legally sportfishing in an area closed to commercial hand trolling. Uber had sport-caught king salmon onboard the vessel which were not marked as sport-caught by immediately removing the dorsal fin. Uber was cited for failing to immediately mark the salmon, with arraignment set in Sitka District Court.

Sitka troller draws jail time, fine

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Sentencing
On 4/4/14 Kristopher Foster, 37, of Sitka, captain and permit holder on the F/V Stardust, pled guilty as part of a plea agreement to unlawful retention of undersized king salmon, and waste of salmon. Foster was ordered to serve 30 days in jail with 20 days suspended, and fined $6,000 with $3,000 suspended. The undersized king salmon were forfeited to the state. Foster also was placed on probation for two years. These charges were the result of an investigation where it was determined that on 10/20/13 Foster had attempted to land several undersized king salmon at Sitka Sound Seafoods while participating in the winter commercial troll fishery. After the processor refused to accept the undersized fish, Foster attempted to dispose of them by feeding them to a sea lion in the Sitka harbor area to prevent being cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers.

Three trollers cited over deliveries out of state

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Failure to report commercial catch
On 10/14/13 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, charged Evan E. Seager, 33, of Mukilteo, Wash., for failing to report commercially caught salmon prior to leaving Alaska. Investigation showed Seager power trolled in Alaska waters, as the permit holder on the F/V Mindalina, and delivered his catch to Bellingham, Wash., without first submitting a fish ticket to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arraignment set for Sitka District Court.

Location: Sitka
Type: Failure to report commercial catch
On 10/14/13 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, charged Jeffrey A. Thomas, 33, of Ferndale, Wash., for failing to report commercially caught salmon prior to leaving Alaska. Investigation showed Thomas power trolled in Alaska waters, as the permit holder on the F/V Kathleen Jo, and delivered his catch to Bellingham, Wash., without first submitting a fish ticket to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arraignment set for Sitka District Court.

Location: Sitka
Type: Failure to report commercial catch
On 10/14/13 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Sitka Post, charged Richard M. Oltman, 58, of Port Townsend, Wash., for failing to report commercially caught salmon prior to leaving Alaska. Investigation showed Oltman power trolled in Alaska waters, as the permit holder on the F/V Cape Cleare, and delivered his catch to Bellingham, Wash., without first submitting a fish ticket to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Arraignment set for Sitka District Court.