Department of Commerce NOAA Fisheries
Office for Law Enforcement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 21, 2001

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.