Maryland Charterboat Captain Settles Interference Case with NOAA
March 12, 2008
NOAA’s Fisheries Service has reached a settlement agreement with a Maryland fisherman charged with violating the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, resisting arrest and other offenses.
On August 25, 2007, officers from Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement boarded the charter vessel Lisa while conducting enforcement activities, under an agreement with NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement in Ocean City, Md.
When officers boarded the vessel, they found the vessel operator, Stuart Windsor, in possession of two wahoo without a proper permit to retain the fish. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources had previously warned Windsor about the illegality of possessing wahoo or dolphin without a proper permit.
Windsor also faced federal charges of violating the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for interfering with the federally-deputized officers during the boarding.
On March 3, 2008, a NOAA General Counsel Senior Enforcement Attorney reached a settlement agreement with Windsor’s attorney, in which Windsor agreed to pay a $20,000 compromise civil penalty.
To report fisheries violations contact the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Office of Law Enforcement Hot Line at 800-853-1964.
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 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, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.