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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2006

NOAA Fisheries Service has permanently banned a San Francisco-based commercial fisherman from participating in any federally regulated fishery. The agency also revoked the vessel owner's permit – one of the most significant sanctions ever imposed against a participant in the West Coast groundfishery.

NOAA assessed the permit sanctions and a monetary penalty following an investigation conducted by special agents with NOAA's Office for Law Enforcement. The investigation revealed that Larry Wong, a longtime West Coast commercial fisherman, had been operating the vessel LONGLIFE on 27 fishing trips without installing a vessel monitoring system, as required by federal regulation.

Vessel monitoring systems use satellite communications and the global positioning system to allow authorities to track commercial fishermen on the ocean to ensure they do not enter restricted or prohibited fishing grounds.

"The closure of sensitive marine areas and the need for protection against poachers makes the vessel monitoring system vitally important to the ocean environment and the fishing industry," said NOAA Special Agent-in-Charge Don Masters. "This action will send a strong signal to anyone who tries to undermine the conservation efforts of the commercial fishing industry by breaking the law."

The assessed penalty resulted from a negotiated settlement agreement between NOAA's General Counsel for Enforcement & Litigation and Larry and Lorelle Wong. The fishing vessel LONGLIFE is owned by Lorelle Wong, and operated by her father Larry Wong.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Larry Wong is permanently banned from participation, at any level, in any federally regulated commercial fishery, the limited entry groundfish permit owned by Lorelle Wong was permanently revoked, and Lorelle Wong may not hold another federal fishing permit for five years. The Wongs also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,000.

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.