A hired master, vessel owners and permit holders of the Alaskan fishing vessel Trident have agreed to pay more than $18,000 in penalties and $241,000 worth of sanctions for falsely reporting areas fished by the vessel on five trips during 2006 and 2007.
The violations were detected and investigated by the Alaska division of NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement, and the charges were brought by NOAA’s Office of General Counsel.
Under the individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, fishermen are allotted specific amounts of halibut and sablefish they may catch in specific areas in order to keep the fish population sustainable. A hired master and permit holders who fished aboard the Trident reported the catches as being taken from more remote areas when they were actually harvested in regulatory areas closer to port.