January 31, 2022 — Five Maine fishermen and one fisherman from New Hampshire have been charged by federal investigators with catching and selling millions of pounds of unreported Atlantic herring.
Glenn Robbins, 75, of Eliot; Neil Herrick, 46, of Rockland; Andrew Banow, 35, of Rockport; Stephen Little, 56, of Warren; Jason Parent, 49, of Owls Head; Ethan Chase, 44, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were indicted Thursday on 35 counts of conspiracy, fraud and falsifying fishing records, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office. Also indicted was Western Sea, Inc., the business that owns the Rockland-based vessel used to catch the fish.
The six men are accused of making more than 80 fishing trips for herring in the Gulf of Maine on the vessel Western Sea between June of 2016 and September of 2019, and not reporting their catch to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is tasked with maintaining accurate fishing records in order to set policies to sustain fisheries.