The Highliner

Commercial fishing is a bedrock industry in Alaska, and has been for more than a century. Every year scores of fishermen net millions of migrating salmon, challenge the icy Bering Sea to trap king crabs, lay miles and miles of baited hooks for halibut, and scoop up enough pollock for a zillion fish sticks. And when fishermen aren't out fishing, they're usually talking about fishing. That's what this blog is all about. Cast your net here for commercial fishing news and notes. And if you've got a bone to pick, post a comment.

About me:
I've pounded the commercial fishing beat for the Anchorage Daily News since 1999. I hail originally from Tennessee. I've never fished commercially, but I've spent much time as a journalist aboard boats and inside fish-processing plants. Of course, I'm a big consumer of Alaska seafood. One of my favorites: canned sockeye.

Contact Wesley Loy at wloy@adn.com.


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‘The tragedy of Sen. Stevens’ - 7/30/2008 1:49 pm

What’s fishy about Stevens indictment - 7/29/2008 11:58 am

A bit more on Aleutians king crab - 7/27/2008 12:29 am

Aleutians king crab deal announced - 7/27/2008 12:00 am

Brothers lose liberty, boat for halibut scheme - 7/25/2008 10:56 am

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Brothers lose liberty, boat for halibut scheme

Posted by The Highliner

Posted: July 25, 2008 - 10:56 am

This just in from the U.S. attorney in Anchorage:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, July 25, 2008

Three Sitka residents plead guilty to illegally selling subsistence-caught halibut

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen announced today, July 24, 2008, that three Sitka residents, Jesse Rivera, age 43, Mario Rivera, age 41, and Artimeo Rivera, age 36, plead guilty in federal court to violations of the Lacey Act for illegally selling and shipping to Seattle, Washington, halibut caught under the Sitka Sound Subsistence Halibut program.

Jesse Rivera’s plea agreement requires that he serve a sentence of six months imprisonment and pay a fine of $40,000. Mario Rivera’s plea agreement requires that he serve one month imprisonment, pay a fine in the amount of $10,000 and forfeit to the United States a 20-foot Boston Whaler, along with the engines and other equipment. Artimeo Rivera’s plea agreement requires that he serve one month in a half-way house and pay a $5,000 fine. Each plea agreement requires that each defendant serve three years probation with a special condition which prohibits any commercial or subsistence fishing.

The guilty pleas came about as a result of an investigation conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Division of Law Enforcement and was based on evidence obtained from fisheries observers and interviews which provided legal grounds for the execution of search warrants on a Seattle seafood wholesaler in 2004. As a result of that search, NMFS investigators found checks and other records which established that during the summer of 2003, the Riveras shipped more than 10,000 pounds of subsistence-caught halibut to the seafood wholesaler in Seattle. In exchange for the halibut, the Riveras were paid more than $50,000.

Mr. Cohen stated, “Our wild waters cover vast distances, making enforcement of the laws that preserve and protect our precious wild resources a daunting task. Most Alaskans respect and follow these important laws. To those who would break our laws: know there will be consequences.”

“These actions are a total abuse of a carefully planned and managed subsistence fishery designed to assist Alaskans truly in need of subsistence halibut,” according to NMFS Supervisory Special Agent Jeff Passer. “The public should know that we will not stand by and let a token few manipulate and abuse this system for financial gain. These plea agreements ensure that the defendants do not profit from their crimes, but are instead justly punished.”

Mr. Cohen commended NMFS who conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of the Riveras. Sentencing has been set for August 21, 2008, in Anchorage.


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  1     July 25, 2008 - 3:43pm | Sheridan_Sheraton

First the Juneau

First the Juneau Restraunt/bar Dock whatever's.

Now this one, and I'm sure there are others.

With all the squabble in the courts over Sport Limits, etc, I would expect to see a lot more enforcement. The USF&W OIG has been tipped to potential Lacey Act violations involving Government officials,too. A good law for those that move poached Halibut or other wildlife across state lines.

I bet that whaler would be a good one to bid on if the Feds don't keep it for themselves. I think they have to auction it though.

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  July 26, 2008 - 12:39am | dirkwells

Subsistence

Interesting that NPFMC allocated more than 500,000 pounds to subsistence caught halibut, and no peep from the commercial community about how damaging this new allocation was to their livelihood. Yet the same amount of "overages" in a similar vein for the charter sector is routinely touted as being fatal to the long term viability of the commercial sector. Hmmm.... if I was in the commercial sector, I would be demanding a little tighter scrutiny over the "minor" amount of poundage newly allocated to the subsistence sector... unless of course 500,000 pounds doesn't really mean a hill of beans to the commercial sector...

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  July 26, 2008 - 3:55pm | ericsarahjordan

Commercial support of subsistence halibut

Alaskan commercial fishermen have almost always supported subsistence and sport fishing for a reasonable amount of fish for an individual or family to eat. What they are recently up in arms about is the relatively unregulated growth of the guided sector which is not about catching fish to eat in many cases. For example here in Sitka over 90% of the guided clients are non-residents. We found when we were dealing with localized depletion of halibut that the residents of California caught more halibut sport fishing in Sitka Sound than the residents of Alaska. While the residents of California may be eating their catch, it does not make any economic sense to spend thousands of dollars and burn a whole bunch of carbon to harvest a halibut with a rod in Sitka Alaska when you can go to your local fish market and buy it much more reasonably both in terms of your pocketbook and damage to the earth. It is all about fooling around, with friends, with the fish, and who knows what else.
Commercial, subsistence, and many resident sport fishermen (I am all three) are pretty disgusted with this disrespect toward our fishery resource

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  July 27, 2008 - 12:00am | Sheridan_Sheraton

The price of an additional

The price of an additional piece of baggage on AA may help that problem, perhaps.

I remember a person who was second in line to being a "pope" in the Mormon church loading several hundreds of pounds of filet, (I assume) halibut onto the plane in a SE AK airport terminal.

I think it was going to tithings, Wink* wink* nod.* or more likely profits.

Of all the people that need to be busted by the fed's I hope it (or this post) quits their business in Alaska fishery.

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  July 27, 2008 - 7:21am | peter1

Two years ago WSFW looked

Two years ago WSFW looked into questionable sources of halibut making their way into Puget Sound farmers markets. One observant fish monger noted some of the halibut was packed in Sitka-labeled boxes. The suspect rep. joked the halibut was from Sitka sport lodges. I believe the IHC was contacted. The salmon and ling cod sold by the company in question was cleared by WSFW, though I'm sure doubts lingered about the halibut source.

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  July 26, 2008 - 8:58am | Sheridan_Sheraton

I'm not well versed on the

I'm not well versed on the Halibut subsistance but I have heard commercial guys that wonder what a subsistance guy does with the remainder of his 30,000 lbs. when he's done feeding his family.

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  July 26, 2008 - 10:45am | dirkwells

30,000 pounds of halibut

I think you need a commercial kitchen to cook it all.

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