Department of Justice
Assistant United State Attorney
- District of Alaska

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2007

JUNEAU MAN INDICTED BY FEDERAL GRAND JURY FOR UNLAWFULLY
CATCHING 17,000 POUNDS OF FISH IN FAIRWEATHER GROUNDS

Anchorage, Alaska – Acting United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today, March 21, 2007, that Robert Becker of Juneau, Alaska, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage on charges of violating federal fisheries protection laws.

The three-count indictment named Becker, 35, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, between November, 2004, and January, 2005, Becker made three unlawful fishing trips to the Fairweather Grounds in the Gulf of Alaska and caught a total of approximately 17,000 pounds of fish. During these three fishing trips, the Fairweather Grounds and all of the East Yakutat Section were closed to directed fishing for Demersal Shelf Rockfish (DSR). However, Becker falsified his fish landing tickets and his DSR logbook to reflect that the fishing took place in other areas that were open to directed fishing for DSR. The total wholesale value of Becker's unlawfully caught fish was nearly $25,000.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Todd Mikolop, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum sentence per count of five years in prison and a fine of $20,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses, the retail value of the fish and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.