Department of Commerce
NOAA Fisheries
- Office for Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2004

NOAA FISHERIES ISSUES $18,000 PENALTY FOR MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT VIOLATIONS

On Dec. 7, 2004, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) issued a civil penalty of $18,000 to the owner and operator of the Fishing Vessel Trailblazer for multiple violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) while fishing in the Pacific Ocean south of San Diego, Calif. NOAA Fisheries is an agency of the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the fall of 2003, the Trailblazer was spotted during a multi-agency aerial patrol involving NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish & Game. The patrol sighted a fishing vessel with a net in the water within the exclusive economic zone of Mexico. Agents on the USCG Cutter Edisto then boarded the vessel approximately 15 miles off the Mexican coast and observed the crew retrieving the drift gillnet from the water. The agents observed two violations of the MMPA: the gillnet did not have the required "pingers" attached, and three dead common dolphins were entangled in the gillnet.

Pingers are small acoustical devices that emit sound pulses at a frequency designed to deter marine mammal from fishing nets.

"Our multi-agency patrol was focused on searching for U.S. fishing vessels operating unlawfully in Mexican waters," said Special agent Michelle Zetwo, NOAA Fisheries Enforcement’s Southwest Division. "The absence of pingers, coupled with the dead dolphins in the net, bumped this case up as a priority."

The California-based drift gillnet fishing fleet has been educated regarding the need to properly deploy pingers to protect both their fishing gear and to prevent takes of marine mammals. Fishermen who fail to follow these regulations increase their chances of harming marine mammals. As a result, they could face significant civil penalties and in some circumstances, criminal sanctions, for their violations.

The MMPA of 1972 protects dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions and all species of marine mammals. Under the MMPA it is illegal to harass, pursue, hunt, capture or kill marine mammals in the wild.

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.