Bristol Bay fisherman cited

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Egegik
Type: Commercial fish closed waters
On 6/24/22 Trey A. Johnson, 37, of Seward, was cited by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers for commercial fishing in closed waters.

Wrangell seiner charged with multiple offenses

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Wrangell

Type: Commercial fishing violations

On 6/23/22 Mark Stevens, of Wrangell, was issued a summons for three counts of commercial seine fishing in closed waters and one count of falsifying fish tickets.

Ketchikan man charged with assault on vessel

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Ketchikan
Type: Assault investigation

On June 15 at approximately 11:59 p.m., the Alaska State Troopers received a report of an assault on the fishing vessel Silver Surfer. The caller did not know the vessel's exact location, but troopers were able to identify a probable location. On June 16, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers vessel P/V Loyalty based out of Ketchikan responded to the probable location and located the F/V Silver Surfer in the waters near Meyers Chuck. Troopers determined that 45-year-old Ketchikan resident David Vest had assaulted another individual on the boat multiple times. He was escorted back to Ketchikan and arrested without incident on assault charges.

Fishy activity reported along Russian boundary

The U.S. Coast Guard included the following in its enforcement report to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting this week in Sitka.

U.S./Russian Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) Enforcement

Foreign F/V activity along the MBL increased dramatically in May. In April, there was less than one vessel per day along the MBL, increasing to an average of 15 vessels per day at the end of May. There have been numerous detections of Russian longline fishing vessels briefly crossing into the U.S. EEZ, but no clear evidence that they were fishing in U.S. waters. There is strong evidence that one Russian trawl vessel repeatedly entered the U.S. EEZ. As a result, the Coast Guard increased surface and air presence along the MBL to deter future incursions. Additionally, the Coast Guard communicated these incursions to the Russian Border Guard for further action.

NMFS discloses costly enforcement actions

A federal enforcement report submitted to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council details several interesting cases, including these:

• F/V Alaskan Lady — In an initial decision issued March 7, 2022, Administrative Law Judge Susan Biro found crewman Eliman S. Bah liable, and imposed a civil penalty of $20,000, for sexually harassing an observer in violation of the Magnuson‐Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson‐Stevens Act). Judge Biro found that Bah harassed the observer both by conduct that had sexual connotations, as well as by otherwise creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. The judge's decision followed a two‐day hearing that occurred Sept. 1-2, 2021.

• F/V Magnus Martens — Owner Magnus A. Martens LLC and operator Jeb Phillips were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with operating a vessel in the Bering Sea Pacific cod pot fishery without carrying an operable NMFS‐approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) and without complying with VMS requirements. A $36,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Cape Kiwanda — Owner B&N Fisheries Co. and operators Ronald Weyburn Naughton and Cory Dehning were charged jointly and severally under Magnuson‐Stevens Act with exceeding the Rockfish Program maximum retainable amount (MRA) for pollock in the Gulf of Alaska. In Count 1, a $1,099.58 penalty was assessed against B&N Fisheries Co. and operator Ronald Weyburn Naughton for exceeding the MRA by 15,815 pounds (a 2,869 percent overage), worth $1,099.58. In Count 2, a $6,502.86 penalty was assessed against B&N Fisheries Co. and operator Cory Dehning for exceeding the MRA by 43,746 pounds (a 729.1 percent overage), worth $3,502.86. A $7,602.44 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $6,842.20.

• F/V Silver Lady — Vessel co-owners Hammer & Son LLC and Lonnie R. Chestnut and operator/IFQ permit holder William R. Hammer Jr. were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson‐Stevens Act with unlawfully discarding at least 990 sablefish. A $14,000 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $12,600.

Man sentenced in case involving Alaska geoducks

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

Sitka fisherman cited over lingcod bycatch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Bycatch

On 5/4/22 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Caven Pfeiffer, 44, of Sitka, for taking more than the allowed lingcod bycatch during a commercial halibut fishing trip on 5/1/22. The proceeds from the sale of 945 pounds of lingcod were seized.