Weekly Highlights - December, 4, 2020

Northeast

• A Special Agent monitored and inspected a U.S. vessel upon its return from fishing within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization [NAFO] Regulatory Area [International waters]. The vessel took two days to unload its catch of frozen at sea fish. An Enforcement Officer provided assistance during the last day of the offload, whereupon the officers inspected the vessel and all required paperwork, as per the NAFO regulations.

Southeast

• A Charleston Enforcement Officer monitored commercial Highly Migratory Species vessel offloads in Rockville, SC. Both captains were given compliance assistance regarding retaining regulated fish for the crew’s personal consumption without first offloading it to a dealer for reporting. 

Alaska

• An Enforcement Officer conducted a Joint Enforcement Patrol with the U.S. Coast Guard for seven days on the USCGC Bailey Barco. 13 vessels were boarded with two federal violations found and four State of Alaska violations found.

West Coast

• Enforcement Officers were notified of the grounding of a 40’ Panga-styled vessel at Pescadero State Beach, located approximately 14 miles south of Half Moon Bay, California, within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  A surfer discovered the vessel unoccupied and notified authorities.  The vessel had three outboards and an estimated 600 gallons of diesel which was held in large fuel bladders and several 10 gallon cans.  Several state and federal agencies worked in collaboration to remove the debris and investigate the vessel's origin.  No suspects have been identified. 

• An Enforcement Officer conducted a motorist assist for a vehicle stalled on a blind corner of a busy highway.  The vehicle was also partially in the lane of traffic with a narrow shoulder.  The officer was able to prevent the vehicle from being struck by passing traffic until a California Highway Patrol officer could arrive and push the vehicle to a safer location.

Pacific Islands

• A Special Agent completed an investigation into a Hawaii longline fishing vessel for two counts of conducting longline fishing operations in the Southern Exclusion Zone (SEZ) of the Hawaiian Islands.  The SEZ is an area around the Hawaiian Islands that was previously closed to protect False Killer Whales.  A Settlement Agreement of $5,500.00 was paid in full by respondents.