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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2005

NOAA OFFERS REWARD FOR INFORMATION ON
EXPLOSIVE DEVICE USAGE IN THE FAGATELE BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the illegal detonating explosive devices within the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The ongoing investigation has taken over three months to develop and has already involved numerous interviews and state inquiries. NOAA is asking the public for assistance in apprehending the person or persons responsible for the damage to this pristine natural resource.

On or around June 14, 2005, an area located within Fagatele Bay NMS was targeted by explosive devices in what appears to be fishermen poaching for tropical fish.

The Fagatele Bay NMS is located on the Island of Tutuila in the American Samoa. This unique Bay, which spans a mere 163 acres, is the only true tropical coral reef protected by the NMS, making the need to protect and preserve it imperative. However, despite numerous Federal regulations, poachers continue to deplete fish stocks and threaten Fagatele Bay's fragile environment by using poisons, gillnets, and explosive devices to catch the fish.

The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) protects marine resources, including vulnerable fish, wildlife and their habitat. Under the MPRSA, it is illegal to possess, or use poisons, electrical charges, explosives, or similar environmentally destructive methods.

NOAA Fisheries Service's Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agents are seeking information about the illegal demolition and are offering a reward of $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest, a criminal conviction, civil penalty assessment, or forfeiture of property, for this violation of the MPRSA.

The OLE asks any citizen with information concerning this incident to please call one of the following numbers:

• NOAA Law Enforcement Hotline 800-853-1964
• NOAA Law Enforcement’s American Samoa Office 684-633-7628
• NOAA Law Enforcement’s Pacific Islands Division Office 808-541-2727

The Office for Law Enforcement is dedicated to the enforcement of laws that protect and conserve our nation's living marine resources and their natural habitat. The OLE's Pacific Island Division is responsible for enforcement issues in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Guam, American Samoa.

For further information relative to the Office of Law Enforcement, please visit: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase the public awareness of America's marine environment and maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one coral reef ecosystem reserve that encompass more than 150,000 square miles of America’s ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources. To learn more about NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program, please visit: http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/

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.


* Any officer or employee of the United States or of any Foreign, State or local government, or their family members, who furnishes information or renders service in the performance of his official duties shall not be eligible for payment under this reward offer.