New Bedford fisherman forced to give up 800-pound tuna | CapeCodOnline.com (http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111121/NEWS/111129971/-1/NEWS01)

Any (expensive) example of bycatch! Permits rules are fairly clear: I didn't know I couldn't net tuna? Sounds like a nice fish anyways.....

Ohh boo-hooo:bc:
No different than them draging up a net full of 50 pound bass and complaining because they cant sell those either..

Ohh boo-hooo:bc:
No different than them draging up a net full of 50 pound bass and complaining because they cant sell those either..

That doesn't really happen. Does it.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

hey freak they can sell anchors though

He was on Fox & Friends this morning:

VIDEO (http://boatinglocal.com/fishing/new-bedford-fisherman-accidentally-catches-800-pound-tuna.html)

I'm not buying the idea that he didn't know tuna caught in nets was illegal

Give me a break! You mean to tell me an afluent business man like this doesn't know that you can't catch a tuna in a net? What a joke! Nice try Carlos.

NOAA Comments on Carlos Rafael's Tuna Seizure

NOAA Law Enforcement provided Saving Seafood with the following comment and explanation of its enforcement actions in the case of the 881 pound bluefin tuna caught by a vessel owned by Carlos Rafael of New Bedford. The story was first reported yesterday and has since "gone vira;" receiving national attention from media outlets coast-to-coast and and in Canada, as well as hundreds of web sites around the world.




The tuna was seized under the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act. Under that Act, it is unlawful for any person or vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction to fish for, catch, retain or possess a bluefin tuna with gear not authorized by the vessel's category permit. In fact, it's even unlawful to have a bluefin tuna in possession if the vessel has a permit but also has gear not authorized by that permit on board.

This vessel has a general category permit for bluefin tuna. Under the general category regulations, bluefin tuna must be caught with rod and reel (including downriggers), handline, harpoon, bandit gear or green-stick.

This particular tuna was caught in a trawl net. There is no permit that allows bluefin tuna to be caught with trawl net.

Bluefin tuna is a highly regulated, highly competitive fishery, and the U.S. bluefin tuna quota is allocated fully to those fishing categories based on traditional gear types, which does not include trawl nets. Bluefin tuna are overfished, and there is insufficient quota to allow for incidental landings by all gears that have the potential to catch bluefin tuna on occasion. Furthermore, given the high value of individual bluefin tuna, regulations are strictly enforced to ensure equitable fishing opportunities amongst the many user categories Atlantic Coast-wide.

The tuna was seized by NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement and was sold. While the amount is unknown at this time, the proceeds will go into a suspense account pending forfeiture proceedings or abandonment of the fish by all interested parties. Abandonment is a voluntary process whereby an individual voluntarily abandons his title and interest in the property, whereas forfeiture is a legal action in U.S. District Court whereby the U.S. Government seeks forfeiture of the seized property.

In this case, the owner already has signed an abandonment form, and a written warning has been issued to the corporation that owns the vessel. Those who receive written warnings may choose to contest those warnings.

For more information, here is a link to the Highly Migratory Species Bluefin Tuna Guide:
Office of Sustainable Fisheries - Highly Migratory Species (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Compliance_Guide/index.htm)


http://www.savingseafood.org/enforcement/noaa-comments-on-carlos-rafaels-tuna-seizure-3.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SavingSeafoodRss+%28Saving+Se afood%29

[QUOTE=Soundbounder;903150]NOAA Comments on Carlos Rafael's Tuna Seizure

The tuna was seized by NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement and was sold. While the amount is unknown at this time, the proceeds will go into a suspense account pending forfeiture proceedings or abandonment of the fish by all interested parties.


??????? Amount is unknown!!!!!???????? Give me a freakin break!!!!

??????? Amount is unknown!!!!!???????? Give me a freakin break!!!!


You never know what your fish is going to sell for, until sometimes a week later. If it ships to japan, it goes to auction. So yes the price is unknown. unless you sell it outright at the dock.
400k? no way. Thats like saying every lost lottery ticket is worth a couple million.

This guy is a dumbass. He absolutely knew the rules and claiming this fish was caught in a net was illigal. He's a fool for thinking he would get away with it.

He should have handed it off to one of his other boats, or made sure it came in the "right" way ;)

When did our gov start selling fish ?
What HMS permit do they have and what NOAA vessel did they catch it on ?
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Recognize the name?

August 2011

Coast Guard finds hidden compartment on New Bedford scalloper

NEW BEDFORD — Coast Guard inspectors found an insulated, lit and drained secret compartment earlier this month on the 94-foot scalloper Vila Nova Do Corvo II belonging to Carlos Raphael, who runs the largest fleet of fishing boats in the city.According to Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Hamel, an enforcement officer for the 1st Coast Guard District, the compartment was empty and large enough for a man to easily enter. It was discovered by removing a panel in the forward bulkhead of the crew head as the four-man inspection team surveyed the boat for unaccounted-for space.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/...NEWS/108190307


Fisherman Forced to Give Up Tuna has History of Violations

It turns out that the New Bedford, Massachusetts, commercial scallop fisherman who was forced to give up the 881-pound bluefin tuna he accidentally caught in a net last week has a history of fisheries violations.

http://boatinglocal.com/news/fisherman-forced-to-give-up-tuna-has-history-of-violations.html

And he got busted again earlier this month.

November 9, 2011

Coast Guard finds hidden hold in fishing leader's boat


For the second time in three months, the U.S. Coast Guard has charged the captain of a fishing boat in the fleet of Carlos Raphael, an influential New Bedford businessman and New England industry leader, with operating while having a hidden compartment on board.


An admiral estimated the discovery meant the boat could have illegally generated $3 million this year from a hidden harvest of scallops — the No. 1 cash crop in U.S. fisheries, and the hallmark that has made New Bedford the nation's port of highest valued landings.
Raphael owns New Bedford's largest fleet, estimated at more than two dozen active groundfish and scallop boats. He also serves as a board member of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.


The Coast Guard announced that the 67-foot F/V Dinah Jane, which is owned by a corporation controlled by Raphael, was boarded Friday near Block Island, R.I. by a team from the cutter Bainbridge Island while fishing for scallops.


The captain, who was not identified, and the vessel were charged with "having a hidden compartment" and "impeding a Coast Guard boarding," said the release by First District (Boston) Public Affairs.


Rear Adm. Daniel Neptun, commander of the Coast Guard's First District out of Boston, said in the statement that the hidden compartment was estimated to be capable of concealing up to 2,750 pounds of scallops, "which over the course of limited access individual fishing quota trips this year, could have concealed an additional 300,000 pounds of fresh scallops, with commensurate market value of $3 million."

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local...ers-boat/print

We used to get lobster bait from one of the fish houses in NB.
If the gates were locked it meant they were offloading a little extra. Yanno, by accident and all.

We used to get lobster bait from one of the fish houses in NB.
If the gates were locked it meant they were offloading a little extra. Yanno, by accident and all.A little extra from the secret compartment.

The story keeps getting better and better:


Turns out, Carlos Rafael also sits on the current Board of Directors for the Northeast Seafood Coalition.


What is the mission of the Northeast Seafood Coalition?


"The Northeast Seafood Coalition is dedicated to working with government regulations and environmental concerns to preserve the long-term health of fishery resources, fishing communities and the fishing industry."


What does the Northeast Seafood Coalition Do?


"The work of the NSC is geared toward crafting solutions to complex fishery problems. The NSC strives to find creative solutions that work to rebuild fish stocks while preserving family-owned fishing businesses, a diverse groundfish fleet and fishing communities across the Northeast."


How could someone who is on the board of directors for a group whose primary mission is working with the government regulations directly associated with fisheries and the fishing industry claim ignorance of these regulations and therefore didn't deserve to have his fish impounded?

Feds seize giant tuna: "Nobody ever told me we couldn't catch it with a net." - National Seafood | Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/seafood-in-national/giant-tuna-seized-by-feds-nobody-ever-told-me-we-couldn-t-catch-it-with-a-net)