November 20, 2017 — NOAA Fisheries dropped the hammer on New Bedford’s Carlos Rafael-dominated Northeast Fishing Sector IX on Monday, withdrawing the sector’s operation plans for 2017 and 2018 and shuttering the groundfish elements of the sector for the remainder of this fishing season.
NOAA Fisheries, which announced the management action Monday morning, said the sector was derelict in its compliance of the previously approved plans and that noncompliance helped Rafael misreport the scope and nature of his catch in a scam that led to his conviction and 46-month jail sentence.
“The action follows the guilty plea of Mr. Carlos Rafael, a major participant in Sector IX, who admitted to falsely reporting catch information,” NOAA Fisheries said in its statement.
NOAA Fisheries said its review showed that Sector IX failed to uphold section plan requirements to the extent that it undermined “foundational principles” necessary for successful sector operations.
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