BOSTON — January 31, 2013 — The U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA officials have issued a notice of violation for what they called a “significant fisheries infraction” after a Coast Guard crew boarded a Gloucester-based vessel Tuesday some 100 miles east of Cape Ann.
According to the Coast Guard, the F/V Princess Laura, a 90-foot slime eel and groundfishing dragger owned by Gloucester fisherman Joe DiMaio, was issued the violation for allegedly fishing under a Northeast multispecies permit utilizing a net liner — an illegal fishing gear configuration, Coast Giuard officials said.
The report from the Coast Guard indicated that crews from the Gloucester-based cutter Grand Isle noted the violation while conducting a boarding more than 100 nautical miles offshore. After issuing the violation, the Coast Guard escorted the vessel back to port in Gloucester and seized all of the vessel’s catch in collaboration with NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement and office of general counsel.
The catch was sold at what the Coast Guard said was “fair market value” in Gloucester, with the proceeds from that sale to be held in a suspense account pending final adjudication and forfeiture proceedings.
The notice of violation and catch seizure is the second reported by the Coast Guard in the new year, and the Coast Guard Statement noted that crews and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration crews “continue to conduct joint operations targeting vessels fishing illegally throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.”
Read the full story at the Gloucester Times