Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Fisheries Service
- Office for Law Enforcemen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2006

FISHERMEN SETTLE CASE FOR ILLEGALLY CAUGHT STRIPED BASS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entered into a settlement agreement with the owner and operator of the commercial fishing vessel Rita Diane in which the owner and operator agreed to forfeit illegally caught fish worth $18,200, pay a fine of $15,000 and serve a ban from fishing for striped bass for 60-days, 45 of which include a ban from all fishing.

In the agreement, the vessel’s owner, Rita Diane, Inc., a corporation from Ocean City, Md; and the vessel’s operator, George E. Topping of Salisbury, Md, admitted to illegally fishing for striped bass in federal waters and to then filing false reports in an attempt to cover up their fishing location. The violations were discovered as a result of a joint investigation by the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Office for Law Enforcement and the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

Using surveillance, an undercover boat, and Global Positioning System receivers, Maryland Natural Resource Police Officers observed the fishing vessel Rita Diane actively landing striped bass more than six miles from shore, within the in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The EEZ consists of all oceanic waters from three miles out to 200 miles from shore. The total amount of fish seized from the fishing vessel for the two-day observation period was 7,978 pounds.

“Fishing, catching and retaining any Striped bass from the EEZ is unlawful; this is the same for both commercial and recreational vessels and fishermen,” said Special Agent Steven Niemi, NOAA Fisheries Service OLE – Northeast Division. “A fisherman willing to take the chance can reap higher catch amounts for a trip, but will likely find that it really does not pay in the long run.”

To report illegal fishing activities contact the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Enforcement Hot Line at 800-853-1964.

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and more than 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

On the Web:
NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole
NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov
NOAA: www.noaa.gov