Contact: Teri Frady FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gordon Helm 4/2/96
The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today charged a Massachusetts enterprise organized by two brothers and 12 of their employees with extensive fraud in the illegal harvesting of millions of dollars worth of fish and scallops. NOAA is seeking more than $5.8 million in penalties and will also seek permit sanctions against the alleged violators.
NOAA has alleged 300 violations were committed over the course of a year by James G. Spalt of Barnstable, Mass., and Peter Spalt of Marston Mills, Mass., six corporations they owned, and 12 vessel captains they employed. The Spalts are alleged to have directed the illegal fishing on the five vessels they owned, purchased the illegally harvested fish and scallops through their fish dealership, and then continued to hide the illegal activity by routinely falsifying the mandatory reports they submitted to federal fisheries authorities. Through large-scale underreporting and nonreporting of vessel activity, they attempted to make their operations appear legal.
National Marine Fisheries Service special agents uncovered the fraudulent operations and executed a search warrant at the Spalts' business offices in Hyannis and Fall River, Mass., in early 1995. The companies' sales and landing records as well as other evidence showed the extent of the scheme. Violations occurred on more than 86% of the 125 trips the Spalts' vessels took during the period.
Groundfish stocks in the region are at or near collapse. The scallop fishery has been seriously overharvested and is currently under a recovery plan. One of the primary measures designed to rescue these stocks is limiting the number of days a vessel can fish. The Spalts' actions ignored this primary conservation tool.
"Putting these fishery recovery plans in place has taken an enormous effort on the part of industry and government. We must not allow that recovery to be jeopardized by individuals who operate illegally," stated Andrew Rosenberg, fisheries service regional director.
"NOAA will vigorously prosecute those who are stealing from people who abide by the rules. Resource protection can only be achieved by strong enforcement measures," said Jay Johnson, NOAA deputy general counsel.
The illegal acts alleged against the Spalts and their corporations include 27 counts of false reporting, 30 counts of buying or selling illegal groundfish, 25 counts of failing to comply with call-in provisions, four counts of exceeding the allocated number of days at sea, seven counts of non-reporting, 19 counts of illegal buying or selling of illegal scallops, 67 counts of selling to or buying from unpermitted dealers, and two counts of fishing with excess crew. Each count may contain multiple violations.
In addition to the $5.8 million in penalties, NOAA is seeking permanent revocation of the Spalts' dealer permit and the permits of the five vessels. Suspension of vessel masters' operator permits is also being sought.
If hearings are requested on the charges, an administrative law judge will decide the matter.
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