Department of Commerce
NOAA Fisheries
- Southeast Regional Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 1999
CONTACT: |
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Chris Smith
(727) 570-5301
NOAA General Counsel SERO
(727) 570-5433 |
NOAA WINS ONE FOR GULF RED SNAPPER FISHERMEN
Seafood
Dealer; Vessel Owner To Pay $800,000
for Federal Fishery Violations
Two Pensacola, Fla. corporations collectively charged with over
one hundred counts of federal fisheries violations have agreed
to pay $800,000 in penalties, the Commerce Department's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced today.
"The serious violations committed by these two corporations,
particularly the falsified records, undermine the very integrity
of NOAA's management regime and will not be tolerated," said
Bill Hogarth, southeast regional administrator of NOAA's National
Marine Fisheries Service, the agency that manages marine resources
in federal waters.
"Falsifying records of red snapper landings hurts honest
fishermen and subverts our efforts to rebuild this prized species," said
NOAA Enforcement Attorney Cynthia S. Fenyk, who prosecuted the
case. "The $800,000 in fines demonstrate our commitment to
protecting these resources from those who would abuse them."
A. C. Williams, Jr., A. C. Williams Seafood Company, Inc., and
A. C. Williams Corporation, Inc., admitted to multiple violations
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Lacey Act, and the Atlantic Tunas
Convention Act and agreed to the $800,000 settlement. A. C. Williams,
Jr. and A. C. Williams Seafood Company, Inc., the seafood dealer,
admitted to:
• purchasing approximately 35,000 pounds of red snapper
during the commercial closure;
•
falsifying records to conceal the identity of the fish;
•
shipping the falsely labeled fish in interstate commerce to Blue
Ribbon Seafood at New York City's Fulton Fish Market;
•
purchasing red snapper in excess of a vessel's trip limit during
the open commercial season;
•
and engaging in activities requiring federal reef fish and tunas
permits without such permits.
A. C. Williams, Jr. and A. C. Williams Seafood Company, Inc. engaged
in 576 closed season purchases from twenty-five boats after 375
vessel trips in 1996 and 1997.
A. C. Williams Corporation, Inc., owner of five of the supplying
vessels, admitted to:
• selling approximately 9,000 pounds of red snapper during
the commercial closure;
•
falsifying logbooks to conceal the identity of the fish and/or
failing to submit logbooks when reef fish were landed;
•
and selling approximately 475 pounds of red snapper in excess of
vessel trip limits during the open commercial season.
Vessels owned by A. C. Williams Corporation, Inc. engaged in 155
commercial closure sales of red snapper after 102 vessel trips
in 1996 and 1997.
"I'm particularly pleased with the work of NOAA Special Agent
Allan Coker, who followed informant leads and obtained the administrative
search warrant that yielded the evidence supporting the charges, " said
Special Agent-in-Charge of NOAA's Southeast Enforcement Division
Eugene F. Proulx. "In addition, Officers of the Pensacola
office of the newly formed Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission's Marine Enforcement Bureau, formerly the Florida Marine
Patrol, provided invaluable assistance in this inter-agency effort
to protect
our severely overfished red snapper fishery."
A. C. Williams, Jr., A. C. Williams Seafood Company, Inc., and
A. C. Williams Corporation, Inc. agreed to collectively pay the
penalty by December 31, 1999, and A. C. Williams, Jr. agreed to
refrain from dealing in federally regulated species of fish in
any capacity and at any location for a period of three months.
A. C. Williams Seafood Company, Inc. also forfeited $3,694.75 from
the seizure of assorted reef fish purchased without a federal dealer's
permit.
NOAA Fisheries urges citizens to report fishery violations during
business hours (M-F 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EDT) to its Southeast
Region Law Enforcement Division at (727) 570-5344, or after hours
by calling its Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.
This and other Southeast Regional new releases and fishery bulletins
are available on the region's Internet home page: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/ or NOAA's Internet home page, http://www.noaa.gov/.
NOAA Fisheries is an agency of the Commerce Department's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency conducts
scientific research and provides services and products to supportfisheries
management, fisheries development, trade and industry assistance,
enforcement, and protected species and habitat conservation programs.
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