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News

Press Release

 

NOAA 01-R431
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 1, 2001

 

CONTACT: Cheva Heck
(305) 292-0311
(305) 304-0179

 

NOAA Receives $15,000 Settlement in Illegal Lobster "Condo" Case

The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has obtained a $15,000 settlement against two Florida men charged with dumping materials into Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary waters to create illegal habitat to attract lobsters.

"The $15,000 settlement in this case sends a strong message that we will no longer tolerate dumping trash into the ocean for any purpose," said Bill Causey, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. "Our already stressed marine environment can't support a practice that results in thousands of illegal, unstable structures on the sea floor, destroying natural habitat and changing the normal life cycles of spiny lobster, the basis of the most economically important fishery in the Florida Keys."

On June 13, 2001, a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer apprehended Alex R. Canalejo and Randall B. Sterling, both of Key West, Fla., dumping PVC pipes and other material into sanctuary waters northwest of Key West. NOAA attorneys had sought $75,000 in civil penalties against the two for placing 25 structures.

In the settlement, Canalejo and Sterling admit to placing nine of the twenty-five structures charged. They paid $11,250 at the time of the settlement and will pay the balance of the $15,000 in monthly installments over two years. In addition, the two will each serve five years probation and agree not to participate in commercial lobster fishing in any manner during that time.

If either of the two fails to make a payment, engages in commercial lobstering or violates any federal marine resource law or regulation enforced by NOAA during the probation period, the remainder of the $75,000 civil penalty originally sought in the case will come due.

NOAA obtained a $2,000 civil penalty in a similar case in October 2001 and other cases are pending. In the summer of 2001, NOAA launched a project to document and remove these illegal structures, using settlement money from vessel groundings to restore natural habitat. Materials removed from nearly 100 sites include 55-gallon drums, bathtubs, car parts, boat hulls, concrete slabs and fuel tanks, among others.

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Visit www.noaa.gov to learn more.

NOAA's National Ocean Service manages the National Marine Sanctuary Program. For more information about the National Marine Sanctuary Program, please visit: http://sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov.

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