Department of Commerce
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Fisheries Service
- Office for Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 30, 2005

NOAA SEIZES ILLEGAL LOBSTERS AT THE CALAIS, MAINE PORT OF ENTRY

From Dec. 18 through Dec. 23, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Office for Law Enforcement (OLE), the Maine Marine Patrol, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted an enforcement operation at the Calais, Maine port of entry. This border operation targeted lobster and other seafood shipments entering the United States from Maritime Provinces of Canada. The operation coincided with the annual increase in lobster imports for the holiday season.

Over $30,000 in civil penalties were issued in the form of Summary Settlements. These penalties were levied against the Canadian exporters for attempting to import illegal harvested lobsters.

Of the approximately 70 tractor trailers that were entering the United States, 31 were found to be transporting illegal lobster and violating the United States fisheries regulations. Cases where more than eleven illegal lobsters were discovered will go to NOAA’s General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation (GCEL) for assessment and potential civil penalties.

“These lobsters being imported into the United States have to meet the exact same restrictions that are placed on individuals fishing for lobsters in federal waters along the East coast,” said Special agent Ross Lane, OLE – Northeast Division. “Everyone is operating on an even field.”

The illegal lobster violations include possession of undersized lobsters, egg-bearing lobsters, V-notched female lobsters, and mutilated female lobsters. The “V-notched female lobster” is any female lobster with a V-notched cut into the second left flipper indicating the lobster was bearing eggs when harvested. A mutilated female lobster has her second left flipper broken off to hide or obliterate such a V-notch mark.

“We’re please with the outcomes of this operation in catching so many violations,” stated Deputy Special Agent in Charge Todd DuBois, NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement – Northeast Division. “However, we are also concerned with the level of non-compliance.”
General random “spot checks” of seafood importations will continue as they have in the past. As well as targeted border operations.

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

NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitats through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service 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.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, 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. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

On the Web:
NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov
NOAA: www.noaa.gov