NOAA, USCG Protect Endangered Sea Turtles

November 11, 2004

PORTSMOUTH, Va. ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â¬ÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å“ The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) prevented a fishing vessel from potentially harming endangered sea turtles in protected waters of the Pamlico Sound, N.C., today.

Fishing Vessel Bella D

A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., spotted the 38-foot fishing vessel Bella D’s gear this morning anchored in an area that has net restrictions due to sea turtle migration through the Pamlico Sound. The gear was found following a tip from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

A Coast Guard boarding team from Stations Hatteras Inlet and Ocracoke and a NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agent boarded the Bella D and found the crew was using nets that are largely prohibited in the Pamlico Sound. The illegal nets can entangle sea turtles, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act, causing them to drown.

The Coast Guard escorted the fishing vessel to an Oracoke, N.C., fish house where NOAA seized the Bella D’s illegal 80-pound catch of flounder.

Violation of the Endangered Species Act may result in civil penalties of up to $25,000 or criminal penalties of up to $50,000 plus imprisonment and/or seizure of the vessel and other personal property.

The Coast Guard, NOAA, and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will continue to monitor those restricted areas of the Pamlico Sound in order to protect the several species of sea turtles that migrate through the Pamlico Sound to lay their eggs on North Carolina’s beaches.

NOAA, USCG Protect Endangered Sea Turtles

Fishing Vessel Bella D

The Coast Guard escorted the fishing vessel to an Oracoke, N.C., fish house where NOAA seized the Bella D’s illegal 80-pound catch of flounder.

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