Alaska District Coast Guard Officers Seize Vessel’s Illegally Caught Fish Off Homer

The next is courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard’s seventeenth District Alaska

KODIAK, Alaska – A Coast Guard regulation enforcement boarding group seized illegally caught fish close to Homer, Alaska, Wednesday.

The Naushon crew seized the catch and escorted the vessel to Homer the place a Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Workplace of Regulation Enforcement (NOAA OLE) consultant took possession of the catch upon arrival on the pier.

A Coast Guard Cutter Naushon boarding group found halibut aboard a industrial Particular person Fishing Quota (IFQ) halibut vessel that was not documented within the vessel’s logbook. Moreover, the halibut was filleted to the place the scale and variety of fish couldn’t be decided.

The Naushon’s boarding officer decided that the crew aboard the fishing vessel violated federal regulation 50 CFR 300.66(a) for “fishing for halibut besides in accordance with the annual administration measures revealed pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.”

“That is one other nice instance of the sturdy partnership between the Coast Guard and NOAA OLE,” mentioned LT Will Singletary, Naushon Commanding Officer. “Implementing federal fisheries legal guidelines in Alaska by defending dwelling marine sources and making certain equity and sustainability within the fishing business is taken very critically by the Coast Guard. We’ll proceed to keep up a presence at sea to make sure mariners are secure and performing in accordance with the regulation.”

NOAA OLE seized a complete of 117 kilos of halibut, estimated at a web price of $3,510, and issued a $2,400 fantastic to the vessel’s captain.

“Managing fish populations sustainably requires efficient enforcement of our fishing rules,” mentioned Jon Kurland, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Administrator. “We thank the U.S. Coast Guard for his or her vigilance and powerful partnership in so some ways, together with in fisheries enforcement actions like this that contribute to maintaining Alaska’s fisheries honest for law-abiding fishermen.”

The Coast Guard conducts year-round fisheries regulation enforcement patrols in Alaska and is actively monitoring the IFQ for halibut and sablefish fisheries that shut on Dec. seventh.

Coast Guard Cutter Naushon is a 110-foot Island Class patrol boat homeported in Homer. The crew’s missions embrace ports and waterway safety, nationwide protection readiness, search and rescue, marine environmental safety and safety of dwelling marine sources.

The unlawful retention of fish is being investigated by NOAA personnel.