NOAA Fisheries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2004

COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL FISHERMEN FINED FOR OCULINA BANK VIOLATIONS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a $30,000 civil penalty to Brent Zirlott Jr., operator of the fishing vessel Miss Rosa Marie and the vessel’s owner, Rosa Marie Inc., for using a bottom trawl to fish for rock shrimp within the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC), a violation of federal fishery regulations. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department.

The Oculina Bank, located offshore between Cape Canaveral and Ft. Pierce, Florida, has been designated a HAPC to protect fragile Oculina Coral (Oculina varicosa) found in the area. Within the HAPC is an Experimental Closed Area with further restrictions on fishing for snapper and grouper species.

The vessel and the Irvington, Ala., owner were assessed a Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVA) and a 45-day permit sanction that will forbid the vessel and any other vessel/dealership for which the owner holds a permit, from fishing for or dealing in federally regulated species of fish for which a federal permit is required. Zirlott, Jr., and Rosa Marie, Inc., have until January 17, 2005, to either pay the penalty and accept the permit sanction, seek to have the assessment modified, or request a hearing before a federal administrative law judge to deny or contest all or any part of the charges and the penalties assessed.

The alleged violations took place on Sept. 29-30, 2004, when NOAA's satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) alerted enforcement to the Miss Rosa Marie's presence in the Oculina Bank HAPC. A NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agent, with the assistance of a law enforcement team from U.S. Coast Guard Station - Port Canaveral, subsequently boarded the Miss Rosa Marie and conducted an investigation. NOAA Fisheries uses VMS to assist in monitoring compliance with closed-area regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

NOAA has also issued a $5,000 NOVA against the owner/operators of a recreational fishing boat from Montverde, Fla. David and Kendra Moreau were cited for violating South Atlantic snapper-grouper regulations by fishing for and/or retaining snapper and grouper species within the Experimental Closed Area, a part of the Oculina Bank HAPC. David Moreau also received a state citation for undersized fish.

This alleged violation took place on June 13, 2004, when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission patrol vessel C.T. Randall located a sport fishing boat with three people onboard within the closed area. Enforcement officers boarded the boat and discovered undersized snapper and grouper onboard. As federally deputized officers, they forwarded the case to NOAA enforcement agents for a follow-up investigation. The Moreaus have requested a hearing before a federal administrative law judge.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the
American public. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries, please visit: www.nmfs.noaa.gov.

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. For more information about NOAA visit: www.noaa.gov.