Fisherman Pays Hefty Penalty for IFQ Violation

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	National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Region NEWS RELEASE Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, Alaska 99802-1668

CONTACT:
Garland Walker
(907) 586-7414 Ext. 226

NMFS 02-AKR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2002

FISHERMAN PAYS HEFTY PENALTY FOR IFQ VIOLATION

A Kodiak fisherman was fined $22,000 for violating the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act for illegally off-loading and home-packing halibut and sablefish fillets and by allowing his vessel to exceed an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) vessel cap, NOAA Fisheries announced today.

On December 11, 2002, James Hayden and FV CLYDE, LLC, operator and owners of the F/V CLYDE paid the penalty in order to settle a Notice of Violation and Assessment for illegally off-loading 527 pounds of halibut fillets and 189 pounds of sablefish fillets outside of legal landing hours on September 6, 2002, in Kodiak, Alaska. The F/V CLYDE also exceeded the IFQ vessel cap for the maximum amount of IFQ halibut that may be harvested in one season by a single vessel.

According to NOAA's Office of General Counsel in Juneau, Alaska, Hayden started landing the IFQ fish at 9 p.m., failed to report it to NOAA Fisheries as required, and failed to debit the poundage from his IFQ allocation. The fish were apparently intended to be used for personal consumption, known as "homepacks." Keeping commercially harvested IFQ fish for personal use is permissible if the fish are reported and debited as required by IFQ regulations. By failing to debit these "homepack" fish from his IFQ allocation, Hayden surreptitiously kept more of his IFQ allocation available for later use.

"The IFQ regulations are set up to ensure that quotas are strictly adhered to and consistency and fairness is maintained for all participants," said NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Assistant Special Agent-In-Charge Ken Hansen, the lead investigator in the case. "This type of illegal activity disrupts the playing field that NOAA Fisheries works to keep fair. It's a serious violation and the penalty reflects that."

The commercial harvest of halibut and sablefish is managed under the Individual Fishing Quota program administered by NOAA Fisheries. The IFQ program allocates quotas of these species to qualified permit holders. The permit holders must make all IFQ landings between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., must submit notification to NOAA prior to commencing an IFQ landing, must debit their IFQ catch against their IFQ allocation and may not exceed this allocation. In order to limit consolidation of fishing effort and support the single owner/operator fishing vessel characteristic of this fishery, a single vessel may not be used to harvest more than a maximum annual poundage limit of IFQ species.

NOAA Fisheries conducts scientific research and provides services and products to support fisheries management, fisheries development, trade and industry assistance, enforcement, and protected species and habitat conservation programs. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, please visit our website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.