Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Fisheries Service
- Office for Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2006

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will pursue civil penalties and fishing permit suspensions in two cases against Florida and North Carolina men who enforcement agents say violated fishery regulations that protect deep-water coral reefs off the South Atlantic coast, between Cape Canaveral and Ft. Pierce , Fla.

The owner and captain of the Florida-based shrimp trawler, Apalachee Warrior are charged with violating fisheries laws in July 2006 for having rock shrimp aboard while in the Oculina Bank.

Due to the fragile nature of Oculina corals and their importance as habitat to a variety of marine species, NOAA designated the bank as a “habitat area of particular concern” in 1984 and prohibited bottom trawling. In 1996, NOAA prohibited fishermen from having shrimp aboard while in the bank.

The vessel owner, Quention H. Creamer, and its captain, John W. Steel now face a possible $30,000 penalty and a permit sanction, which would ban them and their boats from participating in federally regulated fisheries for 45 days.

In a separate case, the owner and captain of the North Carolina-based shrimp trawler, Chastity Brooke are charged with violating fisheries laws in September 2006 for anchoring and having rock shrimp aboard while in the Oculina Bank. Anchoring in the bank has been prohibited since 1996.

The vessel owner, Trawler Chastity Brooke Inc., and its captain, William Ipock, face a possible $30,000 penalty and a permit sanction, which would ban them and their boats from participating in federally regulated fisheries for 45 days. NOAA also is seeking forfeiture of $9,081 in proceeds from the 7,200 pounds of rock shrimp seized from the Chastity Brooke .

“The use of satellite-based technology in recent years has increased NOAA's ability to track illegal activities in closed areas,” said Special Agent Richard Chesler of NOAA Fisheries Service's Office of Law Enforcement. “We advise fishermen to update their charts before heading out to fish to ensure that they know where the closed areas are located.”

NOAA's satellite-based vessel monitoring system alerted enforcement to the Apalachee Warrior and Chastity Brooke's presence in the Oculina Bank. Special Agent Chesler subsequently boarded the vessels and conducted the investigations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the United States Coast Guard assisted the NOAA enforcement agent during these investigations.

Creamer and Steel have requested a court hearing on their case, and Trawler Chasitity Brooke, Inc., and William B. Ipock have thirty days from receipt of the charges to request a hearing.

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 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.