Weekly Highlights - June 14, 2019

Northeast

• An Enforcement Officer (EO) issued a Summary Statement for $100 for level B harassment of a seal pup and interfering with the stranding network attempting to respond to the incident.

• An EO coordinated and led a multi-day port patrol at Port of Norfolk marine terminals and investigated seafood containers for compliance with SIMP and other import labeling/marking requirements. One shipment is under further investigation for potential SIMP and Lacey Act violations.

Southeast

• A Jacksonville, FL, Special Agent (SA) received information that a federal dealer received over a thousand pounds of kingfish from a local fishing tournament and was selling it for a profit. The SA went and spoke with the owner of the seafood dealer who provided the proper State Mackerel Donation Tournament Permit and the name of the charity the proceeds are to be donated to. No violation was documented.

Alaska

• Two Enforcement Officers conducted a six-day patrol of the Gulf of Alaska, Prince William Sound and Valdez on board the P/V CAPE ELIZABETH. They traveled 538 nautical miles and boarded 13 vessels. One vessel was found to be in violation due to operating without a valid CHP on board.

Pacific Islands

• An investigation into the owner, operator, and fishing master of a Hawaii based longline vessel for allegedly setting fishing gear in the Hawaiian Islands Longline (MHILL) Prohibited Area was settled by the Pacific Islands General Counsel office in the amount of $55,674.22.00.  During the investigation, a Special Agent identified evidence, which suggested the captain and/or owner changed the official NOAA fishing logs to reflect new coordinates that strategically placed the vessel outside of the MHILL prohibited area.  The SA re-interviewed the captain and the owner, resulting in both parties confessing to fraudulently changing the logs, and subsequently submitting them to NOAA.