Bolinas, CA Fisherman Faces $35,000 Fine

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Marin Independent Journal -
Bolinas fisherman Josh Churchman, named as a volunteer of the year in 2009 for his work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, now finds himself facing a hefty $35,786 fine from the agency that has accused him of fishing where he wasn’t supposed to. He will plead his case on July 13 to an administrative law judge at the Alameda Coast Guard Station in hopes the fine is wiped away.
NOAA’s law enforcement arm alleges Churchman was fishing 22 miles off of the Sonoma coast in 2008, in 900 feet of water, in an area of a marine sanctuary that was off limits in order to protect rockfish populations. Churchman took about 500 rockfish on an average day. Churchman said he was a quarter of a mile inside an imaginary line created by NOAA, but didn’t realize it at the time.
An NOAA spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment on an ongoing case. But in a court filing, the agency said Churchman knew he was fishing in a closed area known as the Nontrawl Rockfish Conservation Area because he had been told that by another fisherman. “Making matters even worse, the evidence will show (Churchman) contacted the California Department of Fish and Game seeking a change in the Nontrawl RCA coordinates that would exclude his fishing grounds from the Nontrawl RCA,” and then proceeded to fish in that same area.
It was Churchman’s “decision to continue his illegal fishing operations once he knew his fishing grounds were within the Nontrawl RCA that is the focus of this case, and is the key factor mandating that a significant sanction be imposed,” the NOAA said in its filing.
What perplexes Churchman is that he had NOAA observers on board his 25-foot, hand-built boat Palo several times over the years at the same location. NOAA observers often ride commercial boats to make sure they are following the law. “I took them to the spot where I was fishing and they never said I was in an area that was off limits,” said Churchman, who carries a device on his boat that relays his position to authorities. “I had been fishing that area for some time, but they never said anything to me.”
When he finally heard from the NOAA, he was informed that a case was being built against him. He then received a letter from the agency saying he had to pay the $35,786 fine.
“My jaw almost hit the pavement,” he said. “I thought the decimal point was off or something.” The fine was hard to swallow because Churchman said he would have simply stopped fishing in the area if someone had given him a verbal warning.