Saving Seafood

Enforcement

Florida regulators crack down on harvest, sale of undersized spiny lobsters

October 16, 2019 — Kent Alexander Quinn Downs, a 33-year-old commercial spiny lobster fisherman from Marathon, Florida, was arrested Oct. 10 and charged with 11 counts of possessing undersized lobsters on his vessel as well as a felony charge related to destroying evidence, the Miami Herald reports.

Quinn Downs and his boat, That’s Right, were spotted in the East Bahia Honda Channel by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) officer Joshua Peters in the afternoon and hailed for an inspection. Peters said he then noticed a man dumping half a basket of undersized lobsters into the water.

Quinn Downs later admitted there were about 15 undersized lobsters in the basket and that he dumped them when he saw the officer’s blue lights, according to the arrest report.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA Offers Reward for Information Regarding Unreported/Misreported Landings of Summer Flounder

October 2, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 in exchange for information leading to the successful prosecution of individuals suspected of being involved in significant unreported or misreported landings of summer flounder (fluke) in New York and New Jersey.

NOAA officials seek information from anyone who may have details of these incidents.

Anyone with information is asked to please call OLE’s Northeast Division at 908-339-1148, or the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-853-1964.

Tips may be anonymous, however anyone providing information must leave their name and contact information to be eligible for the reward.

3 charged with breaking herring fishing laws in Maine

September 20, 2019 — The Maine Marine Patrol says it has cited three men for violating laws designed to protect an economically important species of fish.

The laws protect Atlantic herring, a bait fish that has been the subject of deep fishing quota cuts in recent years. The marine patrol says it has charged fishing boat captain Glenn Robbins of Eliot with exceeding the weekly limit of 160,000 pounds of herring and failing to file accurate reports.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

U.S. Coast Guard Targets Illegal Fishing in International Waters

September 9, 2019 — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon, including two Canadian fishery officers, returned to Seattle on Sunday after an 80-day patrol detecting and deterring illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean. The patrol was performed under the auspices of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Economists estimate that IUU fishing costs the international economy billions of dollars per year. By diminishing stocks, it undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fishermen around the world, with negative effects on food security in developing nations. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, combatting global IUU fishing through international partnerships is a priority for Canada and the United States.

“IUU fishing is one of the greatest threats to the ocean’s fish stocks,” said Capt. Jonathan Musman, Mellon’s commanding officer. “It was an honor to be on the front lines of enforcement efforts of the distant waters fishing fleets.”

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

“El Chapo” drugs came into US through fake seafood firms

September 4, 2019 — An individual who worked with a major drug cartel led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman helped to funnel more than USD 12 million (EUR 11 million) worth of drugs across the United States via fake seafood companies.

Juan Alfaro of Hacienda, California, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison for narcotics conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of New York.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China patrols target IUU in North Pacific

August 28, 2019 — China is flexing its muscles as an enforcer of international fishery rules after moving to enlarge its Coast Guard and place it under military command.

Two vessels of the China Coast Guard are operating in the North Pacific Ocean to enforce the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean (NPFC), which came into force in 2015. A Chinese military TV channel has been broadcasting footage of the vessels returning to ports in Dalian and Qingdao after 27 days of patrolling, during which they sailed a combined nearly 10,000 nautical miles.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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