Saving Seafood

Enforcement

Carlos Rafael settles Coast Guard oil violations; feds auction boats

August 14, 2019 — Carlos Rafael, the longtime New Bedford industry figure now serving a 46-month sentence in federal prison, settled water pollution complaints for $511,000 in civil penalties, as the U.S. Marshals Service offered two of his boats at auction.

Rafael, manager Stephanie Rafael DeMello, and captain Carlos Pereira agreed to the penalty and making improvements to the Vila Nova do Corvo II. The Coast Guard charged that the vessel discharged oily bilge waste overboard at sea while harvesting scallops and that its used fuel filters were likewise dumped over the side.

Rafael pleaded guilty to falsifying landing reports, fish labeling and other records, tax evasion and cash smuggling. He was arrested in February 2016 after federal investigators, posing as Russian immigrants with sketchy organized crime connections, recorded Rafael bragging about how he routinely faked landing reports and fish tickets to evade quota limits.

In the original sentencing, Rafael had been ordered to forfeit four vessels to the government, but a final settlement allowed two of those, the Bulldog and Southern Crusader II, to be released to his wife Conceicao Rafael and other New Bedford fishermen in shared ownership.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Summer anglers run afoul of tuna rules

August 1, 2019 — Many recreational anglers are enticed by the thrill of catching a giant tuna that can weigh up to 1,000 pounds, with the challenge to land it sometimes going on for hours.

A greater challenge is managing tuna fisheries, a task NOAA’s Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division is responsible for.

“There are approximately 20,000 recreational HMS permitted vessels, 3,500 commercial, and 3,500 for-hire permits issued annually,” says Jennie Lyons, NOAA public affairs deputy director. “Although recreational vessels may have less impact on a marine resource as an individual, sheer numbers of vessel can have an immense impact.”

Recently five recreational boats tuna fishing near Oregon Inlet off North Carolina found out just how seriously the NOAA HMS division takes the permitting process.

The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Rollin Fritch found the five recreational vessels fishing for highly migratory species without federal fisheries permits. The violations were discovered during the routine boarding process, according to information from the Coast Guard, which did not release the names of the boats or operators.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Coast Guard finds federal fisheries violations aboard 5 recreational fishing vessels

July 17, 2019 — PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The following was released by the U.S. Coast Guard, along with a correction from a previous release:

Correction: the vessels found to be in violation by not having their Federal Fisheries Permit were recreational and not commercial fishing vessels.

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Rollin Fritch found five recreational vessels fishing for highly migratory species without Federal Fisheries Permits, a violation discovered during the routine boarding process over the weekend near Oregon Inlet, N.C. 

Recreational fishing in federal waters without the appropriate permit violates the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  Fishermen found in violation of this act can be subject to fines up $3,750.

“Applying for and maintaining a Federal Fisheries Permit and abiding by appropriate catch limits facilitates NOAA’s ability to regulate overfishing keeping the species healthy,” said Lt. Brittany Fifer, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Rollin Fitch. “The Federal Fisheries Permit program levels the playing field for all fisherman.”

Information about fishing permits to include the acquisition process can be found on the National Marine Fisheries Service website. For any additional questions, please call 1-888-872-8862.

Coast Guard wages battle against illegal fishing boats

May 29, 2019 —  In the sun-blasted, wind-riven waters between the South Padre Island jetties and the mouth of the Rio Grande, a different kind of border crossing crisis is playing out.

One side has spotter aircraft, radar and fully crewed patrol craft loaded with the latest technology. The other employs simple 20- to 30-foot boats with outboard motors, capitalizing on speed and a canny sense for beating a tactical retreat.

For Mexican lancha crews fishing illegally in the waters of the United States, low-tech often proves good enough.

In the past five years, U.S. Coast Guard interceptions (visual sighting at sea or by air) and interdictions (stop and seizure) are up. Last year, Coast Guard crews seized 60 vessels which were fishing illegally in U.S. waters.

This year, they’ve already boarded and taken 58.

Read the full story at The Brownsville Herald

Coast Guard takes to the skies to patrol marine life, fishing industry

May 1, 2019 — Coast guard crews are stepping up their enforcement in a way that few people may realize.

They’re trying to protect a billion-dollar industry and the animals that live right off our coast.

On board with the U.S. Coast Guard, they’re focused on what’s on the water. While most people see this as the role of local crews, they’re also spending more time in a C-144 airplane high above the waters of New England looking for certain boats.

Read the full story at WFTX

Game wardens, Coast Guard chase off illegal fishing boats

April 23, 2019 —  Texas game wardens and U.S. Coast Guard patrols chased eight “lanchas” fishing illegally in U.S. waters back into Mexico on Saturday, confiscating and removing 10 miles of illegal long-lines.

The Mexican fishermen were illegally setting long-lines in the Gulf of Mexico off Cameron County shores, and game wardens confiscated those and freed game fish including 40 sharks and king mackerel along with a single sea turtle.

Long-lining, which is banned in Texas waters, uses hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks attached to a single line. Texas waters stretch nine nautical miles from shore and, following a tip, the wardens and Coast Guard found the lanchas setting their lines a mile to a mile-and-a-half from shore in U.S. waters.

Game wardens found so many illegal long-lines had been set that they had to continue their mop-up operations Sunday.

Lanchas are speedy open boats favored by inshore fishermen and are usually 20 to 30 feet long and powered by outboard motors. The boats cross into U.S. waters and captains set long-lines and then head back to Mexican waters before returning five or six hours later to haul in their catch.

Read the full story at The Valley Morning Star

MSC establishes new requirements to combat forced and child labor

March 28, 2019 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has announced new requirements designed to address concerns over the use of forced and child labor in the seafood industry.

Introduced as part of an update made to the MSC’s Chain of Custody Standard, the new rules require all MSC certificate-holders to undergo an audit of their labor practices and policies, with the exception of companies that show they are at lower risk of employing child or forced labor.

“Forced and child labor is an industry-wide issue with no quick or easy solution. The new measures are part of a series of updates to both the MSC Chain of Custody Standard and MSC Fisheries Standard to address forced labor in the seafood industry,” MSC said in a press release. “The new labor requirements are part of the wider changes to the MSC Chain of Custody Standard to improve clarity, accessibility, and integrity where necessary.”

The audit requirement will come into effect on 28 September, 2019, with companies given a 12-month grace period to implement a labor audit, according to MSC. The on-site audits now required by MSC must be carried out an independent third-party social auditor using of three labor audit programs recognized by the MSC: the Amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative audit; the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), or the SA8000 Certification from Social Accountability International. The MSC also said it planned to recognize other labor programs that gain acceptance from the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Florida Targets ‘Criminal Conspiracy’ In Spiny Lobster Fishery

March 21, 2019 — State wildlife investigators announced Tuesday that they’ve wrapped up a two-year investigation targeting what they say is a criminal conspiracy in the spiny lobster fishing industry.

Lobster is Florida’s most valuable commercial fishery, with landings usually worth more than $40 million a year.

Investigators went undercover and conducted surveillance in what they called “Operation Thimblerig.” Thimblerig is another term for shell game.

Three people face felony charges including racketeering, fraud and identity theft.

Investigators say the primary suspect is Elena Reyes, 67, owner and operator of Florida Marine Fisheries Consultant, a business with an address in Palmetto Bay.

She’s accused of cheating the state out of about $200,000 by underreporting the sale price of trap tag transfers. Every commercial lobster trap in Florida is required to have a tag from the state and the number of those tags is limited, making them valuable.

When the tags are sold, the state gets a surcharge, so by underreporting the sale price, Reyes created a “considerable deficit” in the amount the state was owed, according to the FWC.

Investigators say she also stole personal information from about 60 people who hold commercial fishing licenses. That information was used to get a restricted species endorsement for people who would not otherwise have qualified. A restricted species endorsement is special permission from the state required to fish for certain kinds of fish, including spiny lobster.

Read the full story at WLRN

FCC issues warning on fishing gear beacons

February 14, 2019 — Small electronic beacons that are being widely used by increasing numbers of fishermen could net them big fines.

Automatic Identification Systems, or AIS, are easily attached to nets, longlines and pots and signal the locations of the gear via a vessel’s navigation system, laptops, or even cell phones.

The inexpensive buoys, which range from $47 to $199 from most online retailers, are regarded as a Godsend by fishermen in the way they help locate gear as well as being a potential money saver.

“If you’re not sitting on your gear with your vessel either on radar or on AIS, somebody can come along that doesn’t think there’s any gear in the water in the absence of an AIS marker and set over the top of you. Or a trawler could potentially come and nail your gear and it could result in substantial financial loses,” explained Buck Laukitis, a Homer-based fisherman and a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

AIS is required for boats longer than 65 feet and in certain shipping lanes, said Jerry Dzugan, director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association. But warning bulletins are advising that other users and sellers are subject to fines of more than $19,000 to $147,000 per day for those who continue to use them.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

US Customs claims Vanuatu tuna vessel used forced labor

February 7, 2019 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Wednesday, 6 February it had issued an order against a vessel from Vanuatu claiming the tuna it was carrying was caught using forced labor.

“The order will require detention at all U.S. ports of entry of tuna and any such merchandise manufactured wholly or in part by the Tunago No. 61,” the CBP statement said. “Importers of detained shipments are provided an opportunity to export their shipments or demonstrate that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.”

According to a search of the CBP website, the action taken against Tunago No. 61 was the first withhold order it issued this year and the first ever issued against a fishing vessel.

The order took effect on Monday, 4 February. CBP spokesperson Kelly Cahalan told SeafoodSource that the Tariff Act of 1930 bans imports of merchandise or food produced at least in part by forced or indentured child labor, including forced child labor.

“Such products are subject to exclusion and/or seizure, and may lead to criminal investigation of the importer,” she said. “When information reasonably but not conclusively indicates that products of forced labor are being imported, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection may issue withhold release orders.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source