Saving Seafood

US commercial fisherman held prisoner in British Virgin Islands finally returns home

November 24, 2020 — U.S. commercial fisherman Michael Foy, who was held prisoner on the British Virgin Islands for more than four months, has finally returned home.

Foy was imprisoned on 8 June after being charged with “illegal entry and unlicensed fishing” after being told by the British Virgin Islands customs department to dock his boat in the waters off of Tortola, according to a Change.org petition. Foy claimed he had received permission in order to get passport stamps required for some of his crew, who are Indonesian nationals holding C-11 transit visas. A subsequent investigation found that Foy was denied entry due to the territory’s COVID-19 response.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Stafford fisherman free from British Virgin Islands jail after plea deal

November 3, 2020 — After a five-month ordeal in which he was imprisoned in the British Virgin Islands, Stafford fisherman Michael Foy accepted a plea deal Friday and is free to go, aside from paying a $4,000 fine.

Foy, 60, was arrested June 8 by British Virgin Islands custom officials and charged with illegal entry for violating the islands’ COVID-19 curfew.

He was subsequently charged with unregistered and unlicensed fishing, and failure to arrive at a customs port.

The Magistrates Court dropped the illegal fishing charges on Oct. 9. Foy’s attorney Paul Edwards of the law firm Hunte & Co. on Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, said Foy accepted a plea deal that would allow him to keep his fishing vessel, Rebel Lady.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Fisherman Michael Foy’s Illegal Fishing Charges Dropped; Returning to Court on October 27

October 13, 2020 — Michael Foy, the American longline fishing boat captain who has been detained in the British Virgin Islands since June 8, has finally been released on bail. Foy’s daughter, Jordan Cassoff, confirmed his release on Thursday, but noted that “this isn’t over until it’s over.”

For those who haven’t been following along, Foy, who lives in Puerto Rico, left for a fishing expedition on May 29. On June 8 Foy was caught in territorial waters near Peter Island and Norman Island. Foy said that he believed that the BVI port had been closed because of the coronavirus, but not the border itself. He had been drifting near the coastal border off Norman Island while waiting to get customs clearance to return to Puerto Rico when a patrol boat escorted him to shore. BVI authorities then arrested Foy for illegal entry and illegal fishing. His vessel was seized, as well as the 7,000 pounds of tune and swordfish that was worth more than $60,000.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Family of Fishing Captain Michael Foy Says He Was Granted Bail, But Still In Prison

October 8, 2020 — Michael Foy, an American longline fishing boat captain who was detained in the British Virgin Islands on June 8, is reportedly still in jail. Foy’s family has been providing updates on his situation after he was imprisoned and charged with illegal entry and illegal fishing.

Foy, who lives in Puerto Rico, left for a fishing expedition on May 29. He claims he was in BVI waters waiting to get customs clearance to travel onward to Puerto Rico, but was told by authorities to follow them into port. Once docked Foy was taken into custody and his boat, including approximately 8,000 pounds of fish, was seized. Foy was accused of illegally fishing in BVI waters and not granted bail because he has no legal status in BVI.

Read the full story at Seafood News