Ten Day At Sea Joint Mission Successfully Tallies 20+ Violations
On March 10, 2016, two Alaska Wildlife Troopers, a public safety technician, and a NOAA Enforcement Officer got underway for a 10-day at-sea operation in the Aleutian chain, Alaska. The joint patrol mission was focused on conducting at-sea boarding’s, as well as inspections of state and federal commercial fishing vessels and processors operating in the Gulf of Alaska. What they thought would be a relatively smooth mission, turned into much more than they bargained for. With days of 40 knot (46 MPH) winds, 10-15 foot seas, and snow, “it was more than I’m used to,” said Enforcement Officer Noah Meisenheimer of the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement Office. Aboard the State of , the crew wasn’t in imminent danger. But, on day eight of the nearly 1,300 nautical mile trek, a nearby vessel was. It was a particularly stormy evening when the vessel Stanley K had its anchor wrap around the propeller. By the end of the at-sea patrol, the Stimson team had successfully conducted this rescue mission, inspected more than 100 cod pots, boarded for examination 35 commercial vessels, and audited four seafood processors. In total, eight federal and 13 state violations were documented. Read the rest here 14:51
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