Weekly Highlights - April 16, 2018

Alaska Division

• An Enforcement Officer, along with NOAA PRD, attended an educational and outreach booth at the Great Alaskan Sportsman Show in Anchorage, Alaska. This booth was an interactive educational booth with local marine mammal parts including pelts, skulls, teeth, and vertebra. More than 400 show goers stopped at the NOAA OLE booth to learn about how NOAA OLE protects and manages marine resources. Popular topics included how to register beach found marine mammal parts, boating near marine mammals, and charter halibut.
• An Enforcement Officer provided compliance assistance to a vessel operator for transiting a Steller Sea Lion haul-out, no incursion zone.
• An Enforcement Officer investigated a vessel after the Coast Guard boarded them in Sumner Strait and found no logbook onboard. A second Enforcement Officer boarded the vessel and issued a Summary Settlement for failure to maintain an IFQ fishing logbook.
• An Enforcement Officer issued a summary settlement of $200 to an angler for retaining over the annual limit of charter halibut.

Northeast Division

• An Enforcement Officer provided compliance assistance to a commercial vessel captain for failing to complete a fishing vessel trip report prior to landing.
• An Enforcement Officer worked with the New Jersey JEA to coordinate an Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan saturation patrol targeting regulated pot gear and gillnets. This aligns with the protected resources enforcement priority 5 and the sustainable fisheries enforcement priority 3 of the Northeast Division strategic plan.
• An Enforcement Officer issued a New Jersey commercial scallop vessel a $650 summary settlement for landing a 43 lb. overage of Atlantic sea scallops on a 600-pound trip.

Pacific Islands Division

• An Enforcement Officer along with JEA partners from the Guam Customs MITF unit conducted a PSMA boarding and subsequent investigation of the Japanese flagged FFV, Yusei Maru #5. The officers verified the fishing permits, the logbooks and the fishing gear including the turtle mitigation equipment compliance with WCPFC conservation management measures. Officers also monitored the complete offload and inspected the fish holds. No violations were noted.
• An Enforcement Officer conducted an MMPA land patrol with JEA partners from the Guam Customs MITF unit. Officers patrolled the Southern and Eastern sectors of Guam to include beaches, harbors, and marinas. They also monitored “dolphin watch” tour boats and their activities. No violations were noted.

Southeast Division

• An Enforcement Officer and GADNR conducted pre-season TED outreach events in Darien
  and Thunderbolt, GA. TED examinations were conducted with all TEDs found compliant. Officers provided compliance assistance documentation and education to multiple shrimp boat captains that were preparing their vessels for the season opener. Contact information was provided for future pre-season examinations.
• An Enforcement Officer attended a meeting with Protected Resources, Seabrook Island town government, and beach volunteers. MMPA regulations and dolphin viewing guidelines were discussed. The EO also delivered two letters from Protected Resources to kayak rental and tour boat businesses on Kiawah Island explaining MMPA regulations as well as dolphin viewing guidelines. Photographs of vessels belonging to both companies closely approaching strand feeding dolphins were included.
• An Enforcement Officer met with the owner of several commercial fishing vessels to discuss federal regulations. During the meeting the EO provided information on turtle mitigation gear and provided the owner with sea turtle safe release and sawfish safe handling placards for all of his vessels.

West Coast Division

• An Enforcement Officer conducted a patrol of the Children's Pool area. The Officer made contact with the individuals and asked them to step back and give the sea lions space. The Officer also discussed MMPA regulations with the tourists and answered questions regarding the sea lions hauled out in the area. No further incident was noted.