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Harassment of Fisheries Observer Nets Fine
ANCHORAGE,
Alaska, November 7, 2002 (ENS) –
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has fined a fishing company $12,000 for the harassment of a federal fisheries observer.
NOAA's Office of General Counsel in Juneau has penalized Saltwater, Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska a total of $22,000 for failure to report harassment of a fisheries observer within 24 hours of becoming aware of the problem, and for a separate observer performance problem.
In April 2000, NMFS Office for Law Enforcement, Anchorage Division, received a report that a NMFS observer was being harassed at Peter Pan Seafoods' processing plant in King Cove, Alaska. Saltwater failed to report that harassment within 24 hours of becoming aware of it.
A second violation occurred when Saltwater failed to report an observer experiencing problems with her vision within 24 hours of discovering the problem. The case was referred to the NOAA Office of General Counsel for prosecution.
"The regulations are designed to ensure that NOAA Fisheries is aware when observers are experiencing any type of harassment or other problems that could undermine their ability to collect fisheries data deemed essential to managing the fishery," said NMFS special agent Mark Kirkland. "Protecting observers is one of the highest enforcement priorities for the Alaska Enforcement Division."
Observers are people who work onboard fishing vessels to keep track of fish catch and bycatch in the federal fishing industry. NMFS certified groundfish observers help provide real time data to the agency for use in effective conservation and management of Alaska's federal fishery resources.
NOAA and Saltwater Inc. entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the company's violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Saltwater accepted a penalty of $12,000, with an additional $10,000 suspended and discharged at the end of two years providing Saltwater does not commit further violations of the same regulation.
Saltwater cooperated in the investigation and expressed a strong interest in ensuring that Saltwater's employees comply with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reporting requirements. NOAA intends to broker a meeting with observer providers to develop guidance for complying with observer contractor regulations.
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