Saving Seafood

Enforcement

US Navy Supports Sustainable Fisheries

September 16, 2016 — “You’re probably wondering why the Navy is up here today,” said Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Oceanographer of the U.S. Navy, who moderated a panel regarding the sustainment of fisheries around the world’s oceans at a conference at the State Department attended by President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

“We do much to support this [combating illegal unregulated unreported fishing] through the detection and the monitoring of illegal fishing using our very vast maritime domain awareness capabilities and surveillance assets on the sea, in the air and even under the sea,” Gallaudet said. “The Navy is very invested in this area. The whole key is, this will build our regional partnerships and advance collective maritime security.”
 
The panel was made up of fishery experts from around the world, who examined options that fishery management authorities may use to combat overfishing and mitigate adverse impacts on the broader marine environment.
 
The panel was part of a two-day conference titled Our Ocean that in addition to discussing sustainable fisheries focused on issues such as marine protected areas, marine pollution and climate-related impacts on the ocean.
 
Panelists for Fisheries for the Future included Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia Susi Pudjiastuti, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development of the Republic of Ghana the Honorable Sherry Ayuttey, investigative reporter for the New York Times Ian Urbana, Director of Global Fisheries and Aquaculture Monterey Bay Aquarium Jennifer Kemmerly and Executive Director for the Community and Biodiversity Association Jorge Torre.
 

Two Maine lobstermen accused of running illegal fishing operation

September 13, 2016 — Two midcoast lobstermen have been charged with running an illegal fishing operation.

Duston Reed, 34, of Waldoboro was arrested Aug. 18 and charged with fishing lobster traps that were not marked by a buoy, fishing untagged lobster traps, falsifying physical evidence and tampering with a witness, the Maine Marine Patrol said in a news release Monday.

Jeremy Yeaton of Friendship, Reed’s sternman, was arrested Aug. 28 and charged with falsification of physical evidence. Yeaton removed marine electronics used to navigate and locate fishing gear from Reed’s vessel, Outer Limits, the marine patrol said.

Marine patrol officers recovered 40 unmarked, untagged lobster traps during the seven-month investigation, a significant violation of Maine’s marine resource laws, marine patrol Col. Jon Cornish said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Illegally caught striped bass seized

July 26, 2016 — Environmental Police confiscated 388 pounds of illegally caught striped bass with a market value of $2,400 Sunday from six commercial vessels in the southern Cape Cod Bay area, Major Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police said.

A patrol boat, two smaller boats and an undercover surveillance vessel saturated the commercial striped bass fleet after receiving numerous complaints, Moran said. Officers confiscated the striped bass along with fishing gear valued at $3,000 and issued about $1,000 in fines.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishermen cited, boat seized after police find hundreds of illegal sea bass

May 31, 2016 — WAREHAM, Mass. — A fisherman was given a criminal summons and five others cited after Environmental Police found them with hundreds of illegal sea bass Sunday.

Police responded to Tempest Knob Boat Ramp in Wareham after the Wareham Harbormaster called to report a possible violation, said Environmental Police Major Patrick Moran.

They boarded the vessel in question and found 8 coolers filled with sea bass and scup. After sorting, measuring and counting the fish, police found 219 sea bass, 122 of which were undersized, Moran said. The legal possession for the vessel would have been 10 sea bass.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Judge sets new hearing date for indicted fishing magnate Carlos Rafael, sheriff’s deputy

May 26, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The next scheduled court date for indicted fishing magnate Carlos Rafael is a June 22 status conference in Boston, and a trial would have to begin by early September should the case go that far, according to court documents filed this week.

The status conference also will include indicted Bristol County Sheriff’s Office deputy Antonio M. Freitas, a 46-year-old Taunton resident. The conference will be held at U.S. District Court in Boston, and signals the transfer of Rafael’s and Freitas’ cases from Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy to District Court Judge William G. Young.

This week’s documents also shed light on when potential trials for Rafael and Freitas could begin.

Prosecutors’ indictment of Rafael and Freitas was unsealed May 9, and Freitas appeared in court that day, meaning the Speedy Trial Act would require a trial to begin within 70 days of that initial appearance. Young ruled this week, though, to start the 70-day clock at the June 22 status hearing, rather than May 9. A motion requesting the extension had been agreed upon by prosecutors and defense counsel.

“They might want a little time to stall and delay in order to explore a plea bargain,” said Boston criminal defense attorney Peter Elikann, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bar Association and legal analyst who is not involved in either case.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Marine Patrol Officers to Join the Ranks

May 23, 2016 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

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Two new Marine Patrol Officers have joined the ranks after graduating today from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s 18-week Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. After today’s graduation ceremony, Marine Patrol Officer Kenneth Conley (pictured second from left) and Marine Patrol Officer Michael Hendry (second from right) were sworn in by Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher (right). Colonel Jonathan Cornish (left) spoke prior to the swearing in ceremony offering words of encouragement and congratulations. After an additional 45-day Marine Patrol field training program, Officer Conley will begin serving in the Kittery Patrol while Officer Hendry will be serving in the Lubec patrol.

 

Lobster Poachers Caught and Vessel Forfeited in Biscayne National Park

April 25, 2016 — Biscayne National Park and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers conducted a safety and marine fisheries inspection on the commercial fishing vessel “El Donny.” The inspection ultimately resulted in filed charges, a plea agreement and sentencing.

During the inspection officers observed a lobster shell inside a crab trap, although the boat owner indicated that no lobsters were on the vessel. While inspecting the engine room, an officer noticed a white plastic bag hidden behind some engine equipment. This bag, along with four others that were discovered, included a total of 87 wrung lobster tails, 66 of which were undersized.

Read the full story at the South Dade News Leader

Wellfleet, Mass. shellfisherman charged with illegal sales to restaurants

December 2, 2015 — WELLFLEET, Mass. — A Wellfleet man had his state commercial shellfishing license suspended and was charged with 45 violations of state shellfishing regulations after he allegedly was caught selling oysters to at least two Outer Cape restaurants without having a wholesale license.

The evidence also indicates that David Paine, 57, may not have complied with regulations that protect the public from infections from the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Paine was arraigned in Orleans District Court on Monday on violations of state shellfishing regulations between July 2014 and June of this year. His girlfriend, Kristi Johns, 41, who is a co-owner of Paine’s aquaculture grant, was arraigned Oct. 26 on four counts of violating fisheries regulations in arranging for sales of the oysters to The Whitman House in Truro.

Neither Paine nor Johns could be reached for comment. The phone number listed to them has been disconnected.

According to a report by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Daniel McGonagle contained in court documents, Paine sold oysters directly to The Whitman House and The Lost Dog Pub in Orleans. McGonagle wrote in his report that on June 22, he and Environmental Police Sgt. Kevin Clayton were notified of a possible oyster violation by a state Department of Public Health inspector who was investigating The Whitman House for allegedly selling striped bass before the season opened and marketing it as pollock.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Court case highlights conflict between fishermen and marine mammals

November 16, 2015 — A Cape May County tuna fisherman is fighting federal charges of shooting a pilot whale that was feeding on his boat’s catch.

Daniel Archibald denies the charges filed against him in U.S. District Court. But his lawyer, Bill Hughes Jr., said in court papers that even if Archibald shot the animal, he wasn’t breaking any laws.

The unusual case highlights the often contentious relationship between fishermen and the seals, whales and dolphins that steal their catch. And it points to the murky laws that give fishermen, marine contractors, researchers and others permission in some cases to kill them.

Prosecutors say Archibald, 27, of Cape May, in 2011 used a rifle to shoot at short-finned pilot whales feeding on the long-line catch of the Capt. Bob, a tuna boat based in Sea Isle City.

He was charged with conspiracy to take marine mammals on the high seas and violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

A message From Eileen Sobeck On At-Sea Monitors

October 14, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

I frequently share my admiration for the many talented and passionate people who make up the NOAA Fisheries workforce. I want to take this opportunity to recognize a cadre of highly trained, dedicated individuals who are part of the NOAA team and play a critical role in supporting our fisheries science and management.

At-sea fisheries monitors and observers are our eyes and ears on the water. They may spend days or weeks aboard commercial fishing vessels gathering first-hand information on what’s caught and thrown back.

The work is intense. Observers undergo a rigorous training program to be able to identify and take samples of the myriad ocean life that might come aboard. Getting it right is important because the stakes are high. The high-quality data they collect are used to monitor fisheries, assess fish populations, and inform management.

The working conditions are tough. Observers work alongside fishermen in stressful, strenuous and at times hazardous conditions. Fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. NOAA’s observers and monitors are right there with those doing the dangerous work. This was tragically underscored recently when a member of our observer community, Keith Davis, went missing while at sea on a foreign vessel. There is an ongoing investigation into his disappearance led by the Government of Panama that is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Panama, the US Coast Guard investigative unit and the FBI.

Cooperation is critical. Deploying observers safely and collecting data at sea requires an active partnership between NOAA Fisheries, observers, observer providers, and the fishing industry.

We understand that at times, there can be tension among these parties. Observer safety is of utmost importance for me and NOAA as a whole. I understand tensions have been on the rise recently, but we must maintain respectful relationships. I have asked our law enforcement officers to remain vigilant and ensure the safety of our at-sea monitors and observers. Threats to these individuals will not be tolerated.

At-sea observers and monitors are dedicated professional scientists. They make a valuable contribution to our knowledge of fisheries and deserve our respect.