From the Alaska State Troopers:
Location: Port Wells, Prince William Sound
Type: Failure to register, unlicensed crew
On 4/16/11 Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Cooper Landing and Seward contacted the F/V CC Ranger in Port Wells during the commercial shrimp pot fishery. Investigation revealed the vessel captain and permit holder, Clayton Nelson, 23, of Kenai, failed to register his vessel as required by regulation. Additionally, crewmembers Michael Jahrig, 23, of Soldotna, and Casey Mitchell, 24, of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., did not possess valid commercial crewmember licenses. Jahrig and Mitchell were each cited and Nelson was cited for failing to register his vessel in Area E and employing unlicensed crewmembers. Arraignment was set for 5/10/11 in Seward District Court.
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I know from personal experience that the only people these troopers "bust" are ones who accidentally made a mistake. Those who illegally fish can easily avoid all trooper contact by being scarce from the hours of 10 am to 2 pm. Quite simple actually. A little effort on the state side to catch those who purposefully fish illegally would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're an expert at trooper avoidance. Display the loophole and administration can fix it, cover it up and it will keep happening. I like your style.
ReplyDeletedoesnt matter...just as many troopers are on the road between the hours of 9am-5pm giving soccer mom's tickets; they will keep busting the "accidents" and let the criminals get away.
ReplyDeleteIf your commercial fishing in an unregistered boat, with unlicensed crew members, doesn't that make you a "criminal' and not merely a "soccer mom?"
ReplyDeleteMay 17, 2011 7:55 AM
ReplyDelete"If you are commercial fishing in an unregistered boat with unlicensed crew members, doesn't that make you a "criminal" and not merely a "soccer mom?""
-Reworded to make sense
If you read further into the citation you will see that the boat was NOT registered in Area E of Prince William Sound. It does not mention that the boat was most likely registered as a commercial fishing vessel. Hence, it would be a partial mistake. Mistake. For a couple pounds of shrimp that the Troopers most likely discarded, it does not seem justifiable to be fining a group of guys an insurmountable amount of money. Yes, they are at fault for not providing "proper" said registration and permits, but look at the big picture.. What are the Troopers after? A monetary sum or enforcing the regulations? Seem to me, it's money. It seems they only utilized half of their regulating powers here, not seizing the pots. This goes to show what effect the extra hassle has on a couple of State Employees.
Don't you mean, "It seems to me that it's about money" -(reworded to make sense)
ReplyDeleteIf the boat is not registered for area "E" then its still not registered. Your argument is like saying "Yea officer, I was doing 55 mph in a 45 mph zone, but at-least I wasn't doing 65 mph, see, I was only partially speeding."
And a $250.00 fine for an unlicensed crew member hardly seems like an "insurmountable amount of money." As for the failure to register, what were you fined for that? Probably not much.
The troopers don't want your money, they want your compliance. ADF&G provides (at no cost to commercial fisherman) fishing regulations for all state commercial fisheries. ...One only needs to pick one up and read it to know what's expected.