Department of Commerce NOAA Fisheries
Office for Law Enforcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2001
CONTACT: |
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Stephanie Balian - NOAA Fisheries
(301) 713-2370 |
NOAA CHARGES SUSPECTS WITH ILLEGALLY DUMPING
MATERIAL TO CREATE LOBSTER HABITAT
The Commere Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
has charged Alex Canalejo and Randall Sterling, both from Key West,
Fla., with illegally placing or abandoning cement-filled PVC tubes
and other material on the seabed of the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary in hopes of creating habitat that attracts lobsters.
The men were assessed a combined civil penalty of $75,000 and have
30 days to respond to the charges. The men were caught by Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers during routine
patrols of the sanctuary waters.
Billy Causey, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary said, "Sanctuary and ocean dumping laws prohibit
the dumping of trash into the sanctuary to create artificial habitat
for lobsters. This type of activity can hurt the lobster population
by disrupting their behavior and natural habitat in order to create
profits for a few individuals."
NOAA is planning a salvage operation to remove the illegal materials
from this and dozens of other sites in the Lower Keys. Unless these
materials are removed, these activities will continue to harm sanctuary
resources and could encourage similar types of sanctuary violations.
Dumping materials of any type is a violation of the sanctuary regulations,
the National Marine Sanctuary Act, and the Ocean Dumping Act.
This case was developed cooperatively between NOAA's Office for
Law Enforcement and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission Enforcement Division.
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