NEW YORK COD FISHERMEN CHARGED WITH EXCEEDING CATCH LIMITS
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will pursue civil penalties and a fishing permit suspension in a case against an Oceanside fisherman who enforcement agents say violated the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
The owner and captain of the New York-based fishing vessel, Miss Anna is charged with five counts of violating fisheries regulations in March 2004 for exceeding the Atlantic cod catch limit.
Special Agents from NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement and officers from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Police conducted surveillance of Ryan J. Thorne in response to complaints of alleged fishing violations. As a result, Thorne was observed attempting to sell Atlantic cod harvested during a seasonal closure. The cod were seized by N.Y. DEC officers and sold on auction at fair-market value.
The vessel owner and captain, Thorne, now faces a possible $60,000 penalty and a permit sanction, which would ban him and his boats from participating in federally regulated fisheries for 60 days.
“This case is just one example of the fight against the harvesting of illegal fish," said Special Agent James Cassin Jr. “NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation police take these fishing overages very seriously."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America 's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
To report illegal fishing activities contact the NOAA Fisheries Service's Enforcement Hot Line at 800-853-1964.
On the Web:
NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov
NOAA: www.noaa.gov
Note to Reporters:
• Monetary civil penalties for fisheries violations are assessed when NOAA's Office of General Counsel issues a Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVA) to the alleged violator; Permit sanctions are assessed when NOAA's Office of General Counsel issues a Notice of Permit Sanction (NOPS) to the alleged violator.
• Alleged violators are given thirty days from receipt of a NOVA or a NOPS to request a hearing before an administrative law judge.
• NOAA enforcement press releases are distributed for informational purposes only and do not have the force and effect of law.
