Saving Seafood

Restaurateur accused of operating illegal seafood network

April 6, 2017 — A well-known Houston restaurateur has been accused of operating an illegal seafood network that allegedly funneled nearly 28,000 pounds of unlawfully-caught finfish through his restaurants.

Texas game wardens allege that Bruce Molzan, 59, bought and then sold the illegal finfish off the menus at Ruggles Green and Ruggles Black. Molzan hasn’t been associated with Ruggles Green since 2016 but still owns Ruggles Black.

In addition, another restaurant illegally sold shrimp to Molzan for use in his restaurants in violation of commercial fish wholesale regulations, according to investigators.

The illegal catches were made by a web of about a dozen unlicensed commercial fishermen and sold to the restaurants, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife investigators. Their catches consisted primarily of highly-regulated red snapper, along with other protected game fish species, including tuna, amberjack, grouper and red drum.

The investigation expanded significantly last April after U.S. Coast Guard crews stopped an unlicensed commercial fishing boat in coastal waters near Freeport with 488 red snapper weighing approximately 1,900 pounds. Texas game wardens and the National Marine Fisheries Service seized the fish, which were illegally caught in the Gulf of Mexico off Freeport and Galveston, and investigators were able to link the subjects with the illegal seafood operation.

“This is a big deal and exemplifies the critically important work our Texas game wardens do to protect the state’s natural resources,” said Col. Craig Hunter, TPWD law enforcement director. “Not only did these unscrupulous actors violate recreational fishing regulations at an extreme level for personal profit, but they also circumvented restrictions and rules governing the possession, safe handling and sale of commercial aquatic products intended for human consumption.”

Read the full story at WTSP

Texas game wardens bust massive illegal seafood network

April 6, 2017 — A Houston chef is being accused by state wildlife officials of participating in an illegal seafood network that funneled tons of unlawfully caught fish to his businesses.

The network is made up of about a dozen unlicensed commercial fishermen who caught fish off the Texas coast and sold them to Houston-area restaurants, state wildlife officials said. The catches included protected fish species, including red snapper, tuna, amberjack, grouper and red drum.

State investigators said they suspect the network began operating in 2013, and could be the largest of its kind in Texas history.

“This is a big deal and exemplifies the critically important work our Texas game wardens do to protect the state’s natural resources,” said Col. Craig Hunter, the department’s law enforcement director.

“That is not something we in law enforcement will tolerate and we are confident these individuals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.”

A break in the investigation came in April 2016, when the U.S. Coast Guard stopped a commercial fishing boat in coastal waters near Freeport. The boat was carrying 1,900 pounds of red snapper.

Read the full story at the Galveston County Daily News

NOAA Fisheries Announces an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting May 9-11, 2017

April 5, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) on May 9-11, 2017, at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.  The AP meeting and webinar will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, May 11.  A new member orientation session will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9. 

The meeting on Tuesday, May 9, Wednesday, May 10, and Thursday, May 11, 2017, will also be accessible via conference call and webinar.

Participants are strongly encouraged to log/dial in 15 minutes prior to the meeting.  NMFS will show the presentations via webinar and allow public comment during identified times on the agenda.  

The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of all Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and shark fisheries.  We anticipate discussing Amendment 5b on dusky sharks; Draft Amendment 10 on Essential Fish Habitat; implementation of Final Amendment 7 on bluefin tuna management, including the upcoming three-year review; and progress updates on various other rulemakings, including individual bluefin quota transfer criteria effective dates, requests for regulatory changes received to date; domestic implementation of recommendations from the 2016 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and issues for 2017; progress updates regarding the exempted fishing permit request to conduct research in pelagic longline closed areas and white shark research; and updates on shark stock assessments.  We also anticipate discussing recreational and commercial fishing topics in specific breakout group sessions, including a detailed discuss of permitting, reporting, and compliance with recreational and commercial vessel requirements in response to several requests.  Finally, we intend to invite other NMFS offices and the United States Coast Guard to provide updates on their activities relevant to HMS fisheries.

Additional information on the meeting and a copy of the draft agenda will be posted prior to the meeting at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/advisory_panels/hms_ap/meetings/ap_meetings.html.

This email notice is a courtesy to Atlantic HMS fisheries interests to keep you informed about the fisheries.  Official notice of Federal fishery actions is made through filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register.  For further information related to Atlantic HMS Management, please call (301) 427-8503 or see the HMS web page at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/.  

Maine lobsterman denied bail in federal manslaughter case

April 4, 2017 — A lobsterman from Cushing will remain jailed until his manslaughter trial despite an impassioned plea to have him released to the custody and supervision of his parents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich ruled Monday that Christopher Hutchinson, 28, should not be allowed bail since he already violated conditions when he used drugs and overdosed last month.

His parents, who sat in the courtroom during the hearing in Portland, cried as the judge read his decision. As Hutchinson left the courthouse in handcuffs, he turned to them and said, “I’ll be all right.”

Hutchinson is charged with seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 1, 2014, deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of St. George. Investigators believe Hutchinson was under the influence of alcohol and opioids when he sailed his lobster boat, No Limits, into a storm, sinking it. Hutchinson was rescued by Coast Guard officials, but his crewmen, Hammond and Sawyer, did not survive.

Hutchinson was arrested in December after a lengthy investigation and posted $10,000 bail three days later with conditions that he not use substances. He violated those conditions on March 14, when he overdosed on heroin and needed to be revived with the drug Narcan.

His attorney, Michael Turndorf, said Monday that his client should be released to his parents, who would monitor him constantly and ensure that he be treated for his addiction. His mother had even taken a leave of absence from her job as a nurse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank, however, argued that he didn’t think Hutchinson would be able to abide by any bail condition and the judge agreed, although he commended the parents’ commitment to their son.

“The court has no doubt they will do everything in their power,” he said.

The Hutchinsons declined to speak with a reporter after the hearing.

Frank, in addition to his belief that Hutchinson could not abide by conditions that he not use drugs, told the judge he had concerns that the defendant was still operating a boat, potentially putting other crew members at risk.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Trump wants to end grants that support Maine fishing jobs

March 20, 2017 — The national $73 million Sea Grant program, which includes about a dozen researchers affiliated with the University of Maine, could be eliminated if Congress approves drastic budget cuts proposed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by President Trump.

Funding for the state’s Department of Marine Resources and for collecting weather and climate data in the Gulf of Maine also could be put at risk by the president’s proposal.

Paul Anderson, director of the Sea Grant program at University of Maine, said Tuesday that the money NOAA has funded for the program has been “money well spent” because it has helped draw additional funding to Maine and has helped spur economic development.

“I think [Trump] has just got a fundamentally different attitude about government,” Anderson said Tuesday, without going into further detail. “What [people can do to try to protect the program] is write to our congressmen and senators.”

Trump’s administration already is considering slashing funding for the U.S. Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and for the Environmental Protection Agency, which provides about 20 percent of Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection annual funding. Now, according to the Washington Post, the federal Office of Management and Budget is looking to cut funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by 17 percent.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Rep. Moulton, lawmakers: Proposed Coast Guard cuts ’cause for concern’

March 16, 2017 — Opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed slashing of the Coast Guard budget to pay for the Mexican border wall continues to grow, with members of Congress arguing cuts would contradict the president’s goal of rebuilding the nation’s armed forces.

Nearly 60 bi-partisan members of the House of Representatives, including 6th District Congressman Seth Moulton of Salem, signed a letter Monday highlighting the folly of cutting about $1.3 billion, or about 14.3 percent, from the Coast Guard’s $9.1 billion annual budget.

The letter, addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the House subcommittee on homeland security, stated the Office of Management and Budget’s financial outline for the Department of Homeland Security — which includes the Coast Guard — is a “cause for serious alarm.”

“It is nonsensical to pursue a policy of rebuilding the armed forces while proposing large reductions to the U.S. Coast Guard budget,” the letter stated. “Without question, OMB’s proposed cut targeting the Coast Guard directly contradicts the president’s stated goals and should be dismissed.”

The letter points to the pivotal role the Coast Guard plays in the interdiction of illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants and its direct impact on border security and law enforcement. It said the proposed cuts severely discount the value and effectiveness of the U.S. Coast Guard in both areas.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

House Lawmakers Challenge OMB’s Plan to Slash $1.3B From Coast Guard Budget

March 15, 2017 — A bipartisan group of 58 legislators has sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subpanel to oppose the White House’s plan to implement a $1.3 billion reduction in the U.S. Coast Guard’s budget, Defense News reported Monday.

Joe Gould writes the Office of Management and Budget proposed to eliminate the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Response Team for counterterrorism efforts and cancel funding support for the service branch’s ninth National Security Cutter ship.

The lawmakers led by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California), chairman of the House Coast Guard and Maritime subcommittee, said in the letter that OMB’s proposed cut to the Coast Guard’s budget “should be dismissed” since it contradicts President Donald Trump’s aim to rebuild the military.

Read the full story at Executive Gov

Read the full letter here

Senators to Trump Administration: Don’t cut Coast Guard budget

March 15, 2017 — Mexico isn’t going to pay for that wall and neither will the Coast Guard, if a bipartisan group of U.S. senators have their way.

According to reports, the FY 2018 Presidential Budget Request could seek an almost 12 percent cut in the service’s budget, apparently in an effort to help pay for increased expenditures elsewhere in the Department of Homeland Security.

A letter sent by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Gary Peters (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and eighteen other senators urges Office of Management and Budget Administrator Mick Mulvaney not to make what could be a $1.3 billion dollar cut to the Coast Guard budget.

The senators note that President Trump has committed to stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country, protecting its borders, investing in national security, and improving support to armed service members and their families. The Coast Guard plays an outsized role in all these areas and  the senators say thatits budget should be increased rather than gutted.

“We are concerned that the Coast Guard would not be able to maintain maritime presence, respond to individual and national emergencies, and protect our nation’s economic and environmental interests. The proposed reduction… would directly contradict the priorities articulated by the Trump Administration,” wrote the Senators. “We urge you to restore the $1.3 billion dollar cut to the Coast Guard budget, which we firmly believe would result in catastrophic negative impacts to the Coast Guard and its critical role in protecting our homeland, our economy and our environment.”

Read the full story at Marine Log

Read the full letter here

Sean Horgan: We need the resources of the Coast Guard

March 14, 2017 — The news last week that the Trump administration was considering cuts to the U.S. Coast Guard budget to pay for the Mexican border wall was about as welcome as the late-winter blizzard bearing down on Cape Ann.

From national security experts to local harbormasters, there seemed to be profound disbelief in the logic of undermining the Coast Guard’s mission of public safety on the nation’s waters — not to mention its responsibilities for the interdiction of illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants — by funneling any of its operational funds into the construction of the wall.

“It shouldn’t even be a consideration,” said Mark Ring, chairman of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission. “It’s a far cry from people lost at sea to somebody climbing a wall.”

News reports and congressional sources reported the White House’s Office of Management Budget plans to reduce Coast Guard spending by $1.3 billion during the next fiscal year to reinforce the nation’s southern border with a wall and additional border agents.

The Coast Guard now operates with a $9.1 billion annual budget. Reportedly, one area of spending under scrutiny is the $43 million allotted to the agency’s drug interdiction teams.

Major cuts are also planned to the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration to free money for border security.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Times

Coast Guard escorts boat that took on water off Chatham

February 27, 2017 — The Coast Guard was escorting an 83-foot fishing vessel Friday after it took on water 50 miles off Chatham.

Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a call from the crew of the Krystle James at around 11:30 a.m. saying water was entering the ship, reportedly through a hole in the hull, according to a statement from the Coast Guard. Six people were on board.

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod sent a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to deploy a dewatering pump, and Coast Guard Station Chatham sent a lifeboat crew. The 42-foot lifeboat began escorting the vessel to land after the pump brought the flooding under control, according to the statement.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times