NORTH FLORIDA COMMERCIAL
DIVE FISHERMAN LOSES PERMITS FOR LIFE
Fined $10,000 for Violating
Federal Fisheries Laws
Dan R. Lindley of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.,
a repeat offender of fisheries laws, has admitted to violating
three counts of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act and has agreed to
pay a $10,000 fine. The most recent penalty also includes his
removal from commercial fishing -- including loss of permits
for shark, snapper-grouper species and lobster fisheries -- for
the rest of his life. Lindley and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Office of General Counsel reached the agreement
earlier this week.
"I'm most unhappy when irresponsible
fishermen violate the privilege of holding a federal permit by
engaging in activities that are illegal and harmful to the health
and sustainability of our precious marine resources," said
NMFS Southeast Regional
Administrator William Hogarth. "Thanks to the cooperation
of our Coast Guard enforcement partners, the prompt and precise
analyses by our scientists in Charleston, and the decisive action
of NOAA General Counsel, Mr.
Lindley will be out of the fishing business forever."
Lindley, who owns and operates the commercial
fishing vessel Diamond Diver, was on a five- year probationary
period stemming from previous federal violations. On Aug. 12,
1999, U.S. Coast Guard enforcement
officers boarded his vessel and found evidence that Lindley was
still engaged in poaching activities, and contacted NOAA investigators
for assistance. NOAA Special Agent Dick Smith advised the Coast
Guard to escort the Diamond Diver to a dock in Mayport,
Fla. for further investigation.
"Upon boarding the Diamond Diver,
authorities found and seized dozens of spiny lobster tails that
held remnant evidence of eggs. Lindley had attempted to disguise
his poaching of these egg-bearing lobsters by stripping the orange
egg clusters off the undersides of the tails, a practice that
is illegal and frowned upon by all responsible commercial lobster
fishermen," said Gene Proulx, special-agent-in-charge of
NOAA's Southeast Enforcement
Office.
Several fish fillets were also seized for
identification. The lobster and fillets were transferred to the
NOAA Laboratory
in Charleston, S.C., for forensic analysis, where scientists
determined that most of the seized lobster tails had been laden
with eggs when Lindley harvested them.
Robin Jung of NOAA's Office of General
Counsel issued a Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVA) charging
Lindley with the possession of 75 spiny lobster tails that had
evidence of egg stripping, the possession of lobster smaller
than the minimum size, and maintaining fish that were not intact
prior to offloading ashore.
"In a 1996 case that was recently
settled, Lindley was charged with 21 counts of violating federal
fisheries laws, which resulted in his being assessed a $68,000
fine," said Jung. "The settlement agreement that was
reached in that case allowed Lindley to pay a lump sum fine of
$35,000 but he had to agree to a 90-day permit sanction and a
five-year probationary period. In order to avoid an additional
$33,000 monetary liability associated with the new charges, Lindley
will never again be allowed to look to the sea for his livelihood."
NOAA Fisheries urges citizens to report
fishery violations during business hours (M-F 8:00 a.m. - 4:30
p.m. EDT) to its Southeast Region Law Enforcement Division at
(727) 570-5344, or after hours by calling its Enforcement Hotline
at (800) 853-1964.
NOAA Fisheries is an agency of the Commerce
Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The agency conducts scientific research and provides services
and products to support fisheries management, fisheries development,
trade and industry assistance, enforcement, and protected species
and habitat conservation programs.
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