Department of Commerce
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
- Office of Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2007

NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARTER BOAT FISHERMEN PENALIZED FOR STRIPED BASS FISHING IN FEDERAL WATERS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that New Hampshire fishing captain Patrick Dennehy, owner and operator of the FV Tontine, settled in federal court for alleged illegal fishing for striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone. The EEZ, also referred to as federal waters, spans from the three miles off a coastal state's shore to two hundred miles offshore.

In June 2005, the FV Tontine was boarded by a NOAA Fisheries Service special agent and U.S. Coast Guardsmen while engaged in a paid charter fishing trip approximately five nautical miles east of Newburyport, Mass. At the time of the boarding, several of Denney's patrons were allegedly involved in a cash purse fishing tournament.

Based on an investigation by NOAA special agents, the Agency alleged that Dennehy and a patron caught a striped bass while fishing in the EEZ and unlawfully brought the fish onboard to record its length on a tournament form in violation of the Striped Bass Conservation Act.

“We are committed to consistent and equitable enforcement of these regulations,” said NOAA Special Agent-in-Charge Andrew Cohen, NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement - Northeast Division.

In October 2006, Dennehy was assessed a proposed $1,000 civil penalty by NOAA's Office of General Counsel for Enforcement & Litigation for the violating the Striped Bass Conservation Act.

“This case represents NOAA Fisheries Service's commitment to conserve our striped bass resource and to protect it from those who would profit from its illegal exploitation,” said NOAA Special Agent Chris Schoppmeyer, case agent.

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 Commission of Fish and 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 violations of the Endangered Species Act or Marine Mammal Protection Act, contact the NOAA Fisheries Service's Office of Law 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.