Feds detail several enforcement actions

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

• F/V Pacific Star — Owner Pacstar Inc. and operator John P. McCarthy were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act for interfering with the sampling procedure employed by an observer by discarding catch before sampling. A $3,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

• F/V Farrar Sea — Owner RLB Vessel LLC and operator James Carl Wilson were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with failing to log four fishing trips in the Observer Deploy and Declare System. A $5,750 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $5,175.

• F/V Marathon — Owner Marathon Fisheries Inc. and operator Martin Stam were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of groundfish bycatch on two trips. A $4,105.33 NOVA was issued, and the case settled for $3,694.79.

• F/V Saga — Owner Inter-Cooperative Exchange and operator Jakob Anderson were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with making an IFQ crab landing without holding a crab IFQ permit or a crab IFQ hired master permit issued under their name. A written warning was issued.

• F/V Dawn — Owner Dawn Fisheries LLC and operator Matthew Rohde were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amounts of redstripe rockfish and silvergray rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska. A $5,119.68 NOVA was issued.

Trawl case settles for $15,000

The NOAA Office of General Counsel provided the following case update:

• F/V Vanguard — Owner Vanguard Fisheries LLC and operator Per Hesberg were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with fishing with, and having onboard, nonpelagic trawl gear in federal reporting areas open only to pelagic trawl gear; not complying with vessel monitoring system requirements; and inaccurate reporting. A $59,784 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued. The case settled for $15,000 as to the VMS violation; the agency withdrew the remaining violations.

Mixed ruling on appeal for Bristol Bay fisherman

The Alaska Court of Appeals has affirmed a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman's conviction for fishing in closed waters, but has ordered a lower court to reconsider his fines.

Here's the memorandum opinion.

Prince William Sound fisherman cited

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Port Chalmers Subdistrict

Type: Commercial fish closed waters

On 6/11/24 Thane Miller, 57, from Valdez, was cited for commercial fishing in closed waters outside the Port Chalmers Subdistrict.

Excess cod, rockfish retention draws $10K penalty

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

• F/V Mar Del Norte — Owner North Sea Fisheries LLC and operator Robert W. Harrington were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Act with exceeding the maximum retainable amount of Pacific cod and rockfish. A $10,690 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Juneau man charged over lingcod bycatch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka

Type: Bycatch closed season

On 4/30/24 Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited Richard J. Davis, 65, of Juneau, for retaining lingcod as bycatch in the commercial troll fishery in March. Bycatch in the troll fishery opened 5/16/24.

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.