Department of Commerce
NOAA Fisheries Service
- Southwest Regional Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2005

NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE OFFERS $5000 REWARD

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement is seeking the public's assistance and offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of federally protected steelhead in a trout hatchery near Santa Cruz.

Federal law enforcement agents from NOAA Fisheries Service were called to Monterey Salmon and Trout Project fish hatchery in Davenport, Calif., today to investigate the apparent poisoning of 12 steelhead trout in a freshwater holding tank. Steelhead trout in central California are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"This is more than just a minor act of vandalism or prank," said Special Agent Joe Giordano, NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement - Southwest Division. "This is a serious federal offense and we intend to apprehend and prosecute whoever committed this crime."

Anyone with information concerning this incident should call Special Agent Giordano at the number listed above or the Office for Law Enforcement hotline at toll-free, 1-800-853-1964.

The steelhead were originally transported from San Lorenzo River to the hatchery to be used as a breeding stock in re-populating the native species to the various streams within the watershed. Steelhead in the San Lorenzo River are listed as "threatened" under the ESA.

The penalty for "taking" a listed threatened species under the ESA is up to $13,200 and up to six months in jail.

Steelhead, or Oncorhynchus mykiss, are the same species as rainbow trout, however they are anadromous, which means that they are born in fresh water but migrate to the ocean to reach adulthood, before returning to freshwater to reproduce the next generation. Their behavior is similar to salmon as they travel up freshwater streams from the ocean to spawn. Unlike salmon, steelhead don’t always die after spawning. In fact most return to the ocean to continue their marine life phase

NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources through scientific research, management, enforcement and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat.