Kodiak trawl case draws nearly $13K in penalties

A trawling enforcement case we've been following for nearly two years recently was resolved without going to trial.

The defendant, Steven Spain, who was operator of the fishing vessel Mar Pacifico, on March 24 pleaded no contest in Kodiak District Court to a reduced charge and was fined $1,500 and ordered to pay restitution of $11,198.65.

According to court notes, Spain said he didn't feel he had done anything wrong, and that financially it was getting hard for him to carry on.

Juneau watch

Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, today introduced Senate Bill 161, which appears to ban the use in state waters of trawl gear making "substantial bottom contact."

An update on that Kodiak trawling case

An interesting case involving an alleged trawling violation has been pending quietly for about a year and a half in Kodiak District Court.

Now, the matter seems to be heating up.

The defendant, Steven Spain, who was operator of the fishing vessel Mar Pacifico, has filed a motion to dismiss the case against him.

The Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions appears determined to press on with the case, filing this 19-page opposition to the motion to dismiss.

Spain, 63, is charged with a misdemeanor. He's accused of operating nonpelagic trawl gear in state waters closed to such gear.

The case raises an important question for the fishing industry: What constitutes a pelagic trawl — that is, gear that doesn't contact the bottom?

The complaint filed against Spain says a claimed pelagic trawl net on the Mar Pacifico had prohibited attachments including chafing gear and chain rib lines "making this net suitable for fishing on the seabed."

Prosecutors argue the state definition of pelagic trawl gear is clear.

Their opposition filing includes details about Operation Bottom Drag, an enforcement action said to have reverberated throughout the trawl industry.

Factory trawler hit with $122K penalty

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports this case charged in September:

• F/V America's Finest — Owner America's Finest Fishing LLC was charged under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear in the Nearshore Bristol Bay Trawl Area when that area was closed to trawling. A $121,984.48 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Trident proposes trawl experiment

According to this agency letter, Trident Seafoods is applying to test trawl gear designs that "aim to minimize seafloor contact when targeting pollock."

A Kodiak trawl Chinook bycatch blowout

Here's the story from Nathaniel Herz and his Northern Journal.

Backlash for Peltola trawl bill

Commercial fishing groups nationally have sent a letter asking U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, to withdraw her Bottom Trawl Clarity Act.

NFI decries Peltola's 'misguided' trawl bill

Here's the statement from the National Fisheries Institute.

Another challenge to Bering Sea trawling

Native governments and an environmental group say they'll sue federal agencies over a planned bottom trawl study in the Northern Bering Sea.

Weighty fishing penalty assessed

NOAA enforcement officials say they have charged Ocean Peace Inc., owner of the F/V Ocean Peace, with fishing in the Nearshore Bristol Bay Trawl Area after it had closed.

A $111,031 notice of violation and assessment was issued, officials said.

Shutting down Chinook bycatch

Tribal organizations have submitted an emergency petition to "institute a cap of zero on any further Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock trawl fishery."

The emergency regulation should stay in effect for 180 days, the petition says.

An escalating legal battle

In April, we reported how two prominent Alaska tribal organizations had gone to court to challenge the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. They raise concerns about trawl bycatch of salmon amid ecosystem change.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the case has expanded with new parties jumping in.

The two main Bering Sea trawling organizations, the At-sea Processors Association and United Catcher Boats, have intervened on the side of the defendant, the National Marine Fisheries Service, which manages the groundfish fisheries.

And this past week, five environmental and tribal organizations moved to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. The group includes the Ocean Conservancy, SalmonState, Native Peoples Action, Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council.

We probably can expected quite a legal battle here, as this case would appear to represent a very serious challenge to Alaska's trawl industry.

More catch shares coming

Quite a few Alaska fisheries operate under some form of catch shares.

Now comes another catch share program, the first implemented in Alaska since 2012.

This program applies to the Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel sector in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

Fishing under the program is scheduled to start in January. Read more about it here.

More on that trawling case

Readers will recall our post last month regarding a trawler being charged at Kodiak.

We were not provided at that time with the names of the vessel or vessel operator.

Now we have much more information in the form of this complaint supplied by the Alaska State Troopers.

The individual charged, according to the complaint, is Steven D. Spain, and the vessel involved in the case is the Mar Pacifico.

Herring pickle

Bering Sea pollock trawlers have used up their herring bycatch allowance, and now they're getting shut out of productive fishing grounds known as herring savings areas.

This will cause "significant disruption and economic harm to the pollock fishery," and could even lead to increased salmon bycatch, the trawlers say in this emergency petition to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

As a solution, the trawlers propose doubling their herring bycatch allowance from 2,532 metric tons to 5,064 metric tons.

This idea is drawing plenty of opposition from people who say herring is a valuable forage fish best left in the water to help support the marine food chain.

The council is meeting Monday through Wednesday via webconference.

Where do those Chinook come from?

Here's a new technical memorandum on genetic analysis of Chinook salmon taken as bycatch during Alaska's pollock trawl fisheries in 2011.

The following, taken directly from the report abstract, is what federal scientists determined for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fishery.

Based on the analysis of 2,473 Chinook salmon bycatch samples collected throughout the 2011 BSAI walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) trawl fishery, Coastal Western Alaska stocks dominated the sample set (68%) with smaller contributions from North Alaska Peninsula (9%), British Columbia (8%), and U.S. west coast (6%) stocks.

One more pollock note

The Prince William Sound pollock fishery also opened yesterday.

Trawlers are chasing a quota of 2,623 metric tons, down slightly from last year.

Chinook salmon catch a break

Deckboss was reviewing a recent federal fisheries report and found a very interesting chart (below) on Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands trawl fisheries.

As you can see, it shows bycatch has been much reduced in recent seasons. Use the tools in the lower right corner to enlarge the chart.

Alaska trawl company Iquique names new CEO

Read about it here.

MSC certifies Alaska flatfish as sustainable

Last month we noted the Marine Stewardship Council was close to certifying Alaska's flatfish harvest as sustainable and well-managed.

Well, today comes this announcement that Alaska flatfish has indeed achieved the MSC eco-label.

Flatfish trawlers target a variety of soles, flounder and plaice.

The MSC announcement asserts the flatfish harvesters have
"significantly reduced bycatch" and cut the bottom contact of their trawl gear by 90 percent.