Spanish tuna vessel cited for IUU fishing

In a major crackdown on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a notice of violation and assessment (NOVA) to the owner of a Spanish tuna fishing vessel.

Albacora S.A., owner of the Albacora Uno, faces a possible USD 7.4 million (EUR 6 million) civil penalty for 67 counts of fishing in U.S. waters without a U.S. permit. It is the highest penalty ever assessed by NOAA.

The NOVA, issued in early June, charges the purse-seine vessel with fishing inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the western and central Pacific Ocean over two years.

According to NOAA, the Albacora Uno deployed 67 aggregating devices inside the 200-mile EEZ around Howland/Baker Islands and Jarvis Island between November 2007 and October 2009.

The vessel has 30 days to respond to the NOVA by paying the penalty, seeking to modify the assessment or requesting a hearing before an administrative law judge to deny or contest the charges and penalties assessed.

Any penalty collected will go into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund, which is used primarily for marine conservation initiatives in the Pacific by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.

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