Saving Seafood

US commercial fisherman held prisoner in British Virgin Islands finally returns home

November 24, 2020 — U.S. commercial fisherman Michael Foy, who was held prisoner on the British Virgin Islands for more than four months, has finally returned home.

Foy was imprisoned on 8 June after being charged with “illegal entry and unlicensed fishing” after being told by the British Virgin Islands customs department to dock his boat in the waters off of Tortola, according to a Change.org petition. Foy claimed he had received permission in order to get passport stamps required for some of his crew, who are Indonesian nationals holding C-11 transit visas. A subsequent investigation found that Foy was denied entry due to the territory’s COVID-19 response.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Stafford fisherman free from British Virgin Islands jail after plea deal

November 3, 2020 — After a five-month ordeal in which he was imprisoned in the British Virgin Islands, Stafford fisherman Michael Foy accepted a plea deal Friday and is free to go, aside from paying a $4,000 fine.

Foy, 60, was arrested June 8 by British Virgin Islands custom officials and charged with illegal entry for violating the islands’ COVID-19 curfew.

He was subsequently charged with unregistered and unlicensed fishing, and failure to arrive at a customs port.

The Magistrates Court dropped the illegal fishing charges on Oct. 9. Foy’s attorney Paul Edwards of the law firm Hunte & Co. on Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, said Foy accepted a plea deal that would allow him to keep his fishing vessel, Rebel Lady.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Fisherman Michael Foy’s Illegal Fishing Charges Dropped; Returning to Court on October 27

October 13, 2020 — Michael Foy, the American longline fishing boat captain who has been detained in the British Virgin Islands since June 8, has finally been released on bail. Foy’s daughter, Jordan Cassoff, confirmed his release on Thursday, but noted that “this isn’t over until it’s over.”

For those who haven’t been following along, Foy, who lives in Puerto Rico, left for a fishing expedition on May 29. On June 8 Foy was caught in territorial waters near Peter Island and Norman Island. Foy said that he believed that the BVI port had been closed because of the coronavirus, but not the border itself. He had been drifting near the coastal border off Norman Island while waiting to get customs clearance to return to Puerto Rico when a patrol boat escorted him to shore. BVI authorities then arrested Foy for illegal entry and illegal fishing. His vessel was seized, as well as the 7,000 pounds of tune and swordfish that was worth more than $60,000.

Read the full story at Seafood News

BVI court tosses illegal fishing charge against U.S. longline captain while trial continues

October 13, 2020 — After spending months in jail following his June 9 arrest in the territory’s waters, on Monday, United States fisherman Michael Foy went to trial in the British Virgin Islands on charges of illegal entry, operating an unlicensed or unregulated fishing vessel, and arriving at a place other than a customs port.

But on Friday, following a Tuesday adjournment, Magistrate Christilyn Benjamin threw out the fishing charge, which carried with it a fine of roughly $500,000, while allowing the defense to call additional witnesses to testify against the other two charges when the trial picks up again at the end of the month.

The bulk of the prosecution’s argument for the fishing charge rested on the testimony of a fisheries official, who described a picture, sent to her by a superior, of Foy’s vessel the day he was detained.

But according to Magistrate Benjamin, this evidence would not suffice before “a tribunal of fact.”

“There is no evidence on the prosecution’s case of who took this photograph, when this photograph would have been taken, and certainly there is no evidence of the photograph itself. As a matter of fact, the prosecution has closed its case and the court has no idea what this vessel even looks like.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Family of Fishing Captain Michael Foy Says He Was Granted Bail, But Still In Prison

October 8, 2020 — Michael Foy, an American longline fishing boat captain who was detained in the British Virgin Islands on June 8, is reportedly still in jail. Foy’s family has been providing updates on his situation after he was imprisoned and charged with illegal entry and illegal fishing.

Foy, who lives in Puerto Rico, left for a fishing expedition on May 29. He claims he was in BVI waters waiting to get customs clearance to travel onward to Puerto Rico, but was told by authorities to follow them into port. Once docked Foy was taken into custody and his boat, including approximately 8,000 pounds of fish, was seized. Foy was accused of illegally fishing in BVI waters and not granted bail because he has no legal status in BVI.

Read the full story at Seafood News

U.S. longline captain granted bail while awaiting trial in British Virgin Islands

October 5, 2020 — After more than three months behind bars, U.S. longline fishing captain Michael Foy will be released on bail in the British Virgin Islands while awaiting trial on charges of illegal fishing and illegally entering Tortola’s port, according to his family and lawyers.

“Today was his 10th court date for an alleged illegal immigration violation,” brother Joe Foy said late Friday. “There’s all kinds of paperwork to be done, but he will be out of there (Tortola jail) on Monday.”

The captain’s movements are restricted, and he is staying with a Tortola resident who authorities have accepted as Foy’s sponsor during his bonded release, said Joe Foy.

A trial is tentatively scheduled for next week – probably another remote video hearing, as BVI is under a continuing partial lockdown to control the spread of covid-19, he said. Earlier court dates have been repeatedly cancelled or postponed.

Foy, 60, of Manahawkin, N.J., was jailed June 11, initially charged with illegal entry in violation of the island’s covid-19 precautions, then hit with a charge of illegal fishing, although he had been fishing south of his home port in Puerto Rico far away from BVI waters.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Trial delayed for U.S. captain held in British Virgin Islands

September 11, 2020 — Michael Foy, the U.S. longline captain jailed in the British Virgin Islands since June 11, has seen his trial postponed on Tortola until Oct. 1 as the island goes through another round of covid-19 partial shutdowns, according to Foy’s family.

Foy, 60, of Manahawkin, N.J., was initially charged with illegal entry in violation of the island’s covid-19 precautions, then with a charge of illegal fishing, although he had been fishing south of Puerto Rico.

Foy and his local attorney arrived in court as scheduled Sept. 9 only to be told the hearing was rescheduled, according to his brother Joe Foy.

Responding to urgent requests from his lawyers in Tortola and the U.S., the National Marine Fisheries Service produced 27 pages of documentation from Foy’s vessel monitoring system, with data showing he fished far from BVI waters. They have that evidence in hand for when they do get a court hearing, according to Joe Foy.

Michael Foy’s vessel Rebel Lady was laid to offshore June 8, waiting for customs clearance to enter the port of Road Town as he had done many times before, but Foy was arrested after BVI authorities instructed him to follow a customs vessel into the harbor.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Change.org Petition Has Over 4,000 Signatures to Free Imprisoned Commercial Fisherman Michael Foy

September 2, 2020 — A petition created on Change.org to free imprisoned commercial fisherman Michael Foy has gathered over 4,000 signatures.

Foy, who lives in Puerto Rico, has been imprisoned in Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, since June 8. As the captain of commercial fishing vessel Rebel Lady, Foy departed Puerto Rico for a fishing expedition on May 29. His vessel was carrying 7,000 pounds of fish when he was detained for illegally entering the British Virgin Islands during the pandemic. Foy allegedly believed that the BVI port had been closed, not the border itself. He was reportedly drifting near the coastal border off Norman Island while waiting to get customs clearance to return to Puerto Rico when a patrol boat escorted him to shore. Authorities arrested Foy for not only illegal entry, but for illegal fishing. His vessel was seized, as well as the cargo, which was worth a reported $60,000. He was placed in a cell, where he’s been sitting ever since.

Read the full story at Seafood News

US family fighting to free commercial fishermen held prisoner in British Virgin Islands

September 1, 2020 — A U.S. family from New Jersey is fighting to get the U.S. State Department to intervene in the imprisonment of Mike Foy, a commercial fisherman who has been held in the British Virgin Islands since 8 June.

Foy, according to a Change.org petition nearing 5,000 signatures, was waiting in the waters of Tortola for clearance to enter the island’s port in order to obtain passport stamps for the crew so they could obtain clearance to Puerto Rico – a requirement of U.S. Customs. Instead, Foy was imprisoned and charged with “illegal entry and unlicensed fishing” after being told to dock his boat off the coast.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

American Sword and Tuna Harvesters Call For Department of State to Help Imprisoned Captain Michael Foy

August 17, 2020 — American longline fishing boat captain Michael Foy has been imprisoned in the British Virgin Islands since June 8.  It’s now been months since his arrest, and now the American Sword and Tuna Harvesters are calling for the all relevant agencies of the United States Government to step in.

For those that haven’t been following the story of Foy, the captain, who lives in Puerto Rico, left on May 29 for a fishing expedition. He was detained in the British Virgin Islands on June 8 for reportedly traveling into BVI waters during the coronavirus border closures. Officials not only arrested Foy, but held his foreign crew without charge, and confiscated 8,000 pounds of tuna and swordfish worth more than $60,000.

Read the full story at Seafood News