Calm Seas,
Catherine French
Writer, mentor, naturalist
805.570.0432
We are given only so many days, make each one count.
Sent from my iPad Air
Begin forwarded message:
From: "CDFW" <noreply-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: January 12, 2022 at 4:34:39 PM PST
To: <cfrench1366@xxxxxxx>
Subject: CDFW News: Commercial Poachers Convicted for Illegal Fishing in
Marine Protected Areas
Reply-To: <noreply-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
View this message in your browser
Commercial Poachers Convicted for Illegal Fishing in Marine Protected Areas
A San Diego County judge recently imposed a $5,000 fine on a Commercial
Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) operating in a Marine Protected Area (MPA),
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced. It was the
first implementation of increased commercial poaching fines and penalties
under Assembly Bill 2369, authored by San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez
Fletcher. AB 2369, which is specific to illegal activity in California’s
MPAs, went into effect in Jan. 2019.
The case was tried in San Diego County Superior Court and prosecuted by San
Diego County Deputy District Attorney, Landy Spencer-Daly.
The case was initiated in December 2020 by wildlife officers aboard the CDFW
patrol boat Thresher as they patrolled the Swami’s State Marine Conservation
Area (SMCA), one of many regions of California’s coast protected by
designation as an MPA. Swami’s SMCA is located midway along the coast of San
Diego County. Acting on a tip regarding illegal fishing in the SMCA, the
officers noticed the CPFV Electra on their radar and their Automatic
Identification System inside the northwest corner of the SMCA. As the
Thresher approached the Electra, wildlife officers noticed passengers on the
boat reeling in lines and keeping fish. After boarding the vessel for
inspection, the officers clearly documented commercial passenger fishing
vessel activity and cited the vessel’s captain for fishing in the Swami’s
SMCA. The case was solidified with further documentation of the vessel’s
presence in the MPA via the shore-based radar Marine Monitor vessel tracking
system. The Electra is owned by Helgren’s Sportfishing, based out of
Oceanside Harbor.
In November, Helgren’s Sportfishing, through owner Joseph Helgren, pleaded
guilty to a violation of Fish and Game Code, section 12012.5, resulting in a
fine of $5,000 and an order to stay out of Swami’s SMCA for one year.
“The $5,000 minimum fine imposed in the Electra case is the first of its kind
since the law was passed,” stated David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief
of the Law Enforcement Division. “We hope the Electra case disposition will
send a message that commercial fishing in an MPA will be stopped by wildlife
officers and will result in substantial fines.”
The law specifically states that if a CPFV operator fishes or facilitates
fishing in an MPA, that operator is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $40,000, imprisonment in the
county jail for not more than one year, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
If a person is convicted of a subsequent violation occurring within 10 years
of a prior violation that resulted in a conviction, CDFW may suspend that
person’s commercial fishing license. Subsequent violations are also subject
to fines of not less than $10,000 nor more than $50,000, imprisonment in the
county jail for not more than one year, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
Media Contact:
Capt. Patrick Foy, CDFW Law Enforcement Division, (916) 508-7095
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
PO Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-0209
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