Jones Act Violation Paper Cap't

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

https://gcaptain.com/u-s-flagged-fi...139820873&mc_cid=61f3eaf475&mc_eid=5b70bcca05

 

[SteveK]

Why is this practiced if there is an actual approved captain on board US flagged vessel? ?Are these foreign captains better fisherman

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Why is this practiced if there is an actual approved captain on board US flagged vessel? ?Are these foreign captains better fisherman

Cheaper?

 

[psneeld]

Both?

 

[tiltrider1]

The boats are foreign owned and captained by the owner. They hire a deck hand with a captain’s license to get around tHe law. Deck hand has no experience fishing but this helps him to build hours on the sea.

Look deeper and you will find this was most likely driven by locals complaining to the coast guard. A bit of a turf war.

 

[jgwinks]

The licensed Master (Captain) doesn't necessarily have to drive the boat, the big ship guys don't, but he shouldn't have other duties as well.

 

[Mako]

"Since 2020, the Coast Guard has detected a total of 10 Paper Captain Violations, primarily in the tuna fleets that operate throughout the Pacific Ocean."

Wow, 10 whole busts in 2+ years. This obviously isn't a high priority for law enforcement. Instead like @Tiltrider says, it's just bickering neighbors tattle telling on each other.

 

[jgwinks]

The CG does board fishing vessels enforcing catch limits. They'll check everything else while they're at it including credentials. If the only licensed crew is tending nets or something that's going to be a problem. I'd bet they caught some of the boats without being tipped off. But I have seen some of the 6-pack guys here play the same game, ratting out the competition on minor violations. Usually with the Michigan DNR requirements which are way more stringent than the Federal.

 

[psneeld]

Also, in this kind of LE often entails finding tons of suspicious activity but lack enough evidence for prosecutors to take action....

The data may wind it's way through the system to involve targeted enforcement or sting ops, etc..... catching up with illegal activities at later times or for different infractions.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

The CG does board fishing vessels enforcing catch limits. They'll check everything else while they're at it including credentials. If the only licensed crew is tending nets or something that's going to be a problem. I'd bet they caught some of the boats without being tipped off. But I have seen some of the 6-pack guys here play the same game, ratting out the competition on minor violations. Usually with the Michigan DNR requirements which are way more stringent than the Federal.

Boarding for violations of the catch regulations? Never seen this
Seen it with NOAA citing fishing vessels.

 

[psneeld]

Much of my time at sea was on cutters that spent most of their time on fisheries.

The 2 years on Kodiak, did a couple deployments to both Bearing Sea boarding draggers (when not searching for sunk crab boats) and Noth Pacific for gill netters. The team I was in charge of had one or two helos at sea 24x365.

Sometimes they carried NMFS agents, but often not.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

UPDATE:

https://gcaptain.com/paper-captain-...139820873&mc_cid=60b7cc4217&mc_eid=5b70bcca05

 

[SteveK]

UPDATE:

https://gcaptain.com/paper-captain-...139820873&mc_cid=60b7cc4217&mc_eid=5b70bcca05

I dunno, so asking if a $12,000 fine is the cost of doing business like this. I expect he was fined previously and kept on doing so. Is it cheaper to pay a fine than to pay a captain to do the job?

 

[twistedtree]

Pull their COI. That's what will happen if they lose their challenge.

 

[Duke 239]

How stupid does everyone on board have to be to not realize they are being boarded and it is time to switch hats?

 

[sunchaser]

How stupid does everyone on board have to be to not realize they are being boarded and it is time to switch hats?

With drones, video and powerful image stabilized binoculars crew activities can indeed be ascertained from afar.

 

[tiltrider1]

Much simpler. The paper captain is not going to risk his certificate. Once boarded and the questions are asked the certificate holder is not going to take responsibility for errors he had no control over. He/she will simple tell the truth. I am a deck hand, I don’t know anything else. There will be a new job tomorrow.

 

[Duke 239]

I still don’t see the big picture. Why bother bringing along a deck hand with a Master’s License if the charade cannot survive an inspection? Would it not be cheaper to just have no credentialed person on board? You still would not be caught until inspected.

 

[tiltrider1]

They got away with it for years. This is a new crack down. They didn’t think it was for real and now they got caught twice.

 

[CharlieO.]

I still don’t see the big picture. Why bother bringing along a deck hand with a Master’s License if the charade cannot survive an inspection? Would it not be cheaper to just have no credentialed person on board? You still would not be caught until inspected.

Because they will still need the "captain" to sign at offload. The buyers don't really put much concern to the crew or who is on the boat.

 

[slowgoesit]

A total of $63,000 in fines levied in 2 years . . . . Heck, it's just the cost of doing business! And if caught, from a news article I read, it appears that only the "paper captain" is cited. A good day or two of harvesting for just ONE BOAT will certainly net more than $63k.

If they really want to stop this practice, make the penalties real.

Suggested penalty for first offense:

• Cite the operator AND the owner of the vessel with substantial fines, and confiscate the catch.
• 2nd offense, fine the operator AND the owner of the vessel with additional substantial fines, start criminal proceedings against the same, and confiscate the vessel.

Unless you make the potential risk great than the potential gain, the practice will continue.

I speak from personal experience (years ago) where the umbrella company told boat operators to actively poach, and if caught, the company would pay the fines. One hour of "poaching" would net more $$ than the fine. That was one of the reasons I soon pursued another line of work . . . .

 

[Hippocampus]

There was a fleet of trawlers working out of New Bedford MA owned by one man. He had so many various types of violations they eventually were able to get him out of the commercial fishing business. However he was left a very rich man to my limited understanding.
Think like with other reprehensible individuals fines are meaningless as others have stated. Rather think both fines and seizure of all involved assets. That means the boat is forfeit as well as any profits that can be shown as earned now or in the past by that boat.

Take the profit out of the activity plus some financial pain would hopefully decrease the occurrence. Add in jail time for the alien and work it both ways.

 

[AlaskaProf]

Paper? We don't need no stinkin' paper.

 

[Datenight]

There was a fleet of trawlers working out of New Bedford MA owned by one man. He had so many various types of violations they eventually were able to get him out of the commercial fishing business.

The Cod Father?

Rob

 

[Hippocampus]

Yup