Department of Commerce NOAA Fisheries
Office for Law Enforcement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2001
CONTACT: |
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NOAA FISHERIES OLE
MARK OSWELL
(301) 427-2300 |
NOAA FISHERIES ENFORCES MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION
ACT
Settlement Reached in Harbor Seal Case
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service officials announce that
earlier this month, Gunner Noreen of Juneau, Alaska, entered into
a settlement agreement with NOAA Fisheries Office of the General
Counsel in Juneau to resolve an unlawful "take" of a
harbor seal.
As defined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a "take" is
a legal term which means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill. Noreen,
operator of a gill netting vessel, admitted to an unlawful take
of a harbor seal, and agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty and forfeit
the .270-caliber rifle used to kill the seal. A portion of the
$5,000 penalty will be suspended for five years provided that Noreen
has no further violations of the MMPA.
The unlawful take of the seal occurred during a gill net fishing
trip on July 15, 1999, in the vicinity of Taku Inlet, near Juneau.
The violation was reported to NOAA Fisheries, Alaskan Enforcement
Division by a crew member of Noreen's vessel. The information reported
by this witness was key to the successful prosecution of this MMPA
violation, and NOAA intends to provide a reward to the witness.
"Prosecution of incidences of marine mammal harassment is
often dependent on obtaining eye witness evidence," said Steve
Niemi, NOAA Fisheries, Office for Law Enforcement Special Agent. "I
hope that others will follow the commendable actions of this witness
and report any unlawful harassment of marine mammals to NOAA."
To report any incident, call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement hotline
at 1-800-853-1964.
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