August 8, 2018 — The 16 tons of salmon alleged to have been illegally harvested in Lower Cook Inlet were sold to a processor so they wouldn’t be wasted, with the state of Alaska now holding the harvest ticket. Wildlife Troopers say while illegally driving salmon from closed areas to open ones isn’t unheard of, this case is particularly egregious.
Four fishermen were charged for the incident on July 20, in which Troopers say five vessels were used in varying roles to drive the chum and pink salmon from an area closed to fishing toward an open fishing area. The fishermen then delivered 33,328 lbs of the illegally-caught chum and pink salmon to a processor. It was then processed as any legal catch would be, so it wouldn’t go to waste.
State Troopers charged the four men, who live in Homer and Anchor Point, and confiscated the harvest ticket, which tracks the weight and date of a delivery. Processors use the ticket number to pay fishermen from the season, and Fish and Game uses the ticket number to track how many fish were harvested, where, and by whom.
The outcome of the court cases will determine whether the money goes back to the fishermen, or is forfeit to the state.
Eric Winslow, Paul Roth, Robert Roth and Mark Roth were charged with crimes including driving salmon, commercial fishing in closed waters, failure to provide information to a fish transporter, failure to obtain a fish transporter permit, failure to complete fish tickets, unlawful possession of commercial fish, and failure to display vessel license numbers.