The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has charged the owner and operator of the fishing vessel Lillie Louise with four counts of Magnuson-Stevens Act violations, and has assessed proposed civil penalties totaling $18,000, and a permit sanction of 120-days. The vessel's owner and operator, Albert C. Adams, of Orange Beach, Alabama, allegedly harvested 474 pounds of red snapper (including 29-undersized fish) during the closure of both the recreational and commercial red snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, made false statements to a federal agent regarding his fishing activities, and took efforts to conceal the illegally taken fish.

"It's disheartening that this violation occurred on the heels of the nearly two million dollars recently assessed for similar red snapper closure violations," said NOAA Enforcement Attorney Cynthia S. Fenyk. "It tarnishes the image of the vast majority of fishermen who are obeying the laws designed to rebuild the overfished red snapper fishery." Adams was served today with a Notice of Violation and Assessment and Notice of Permit Sanction and has 30 days to contest the charges.

"Offenders should be on notice that honest fishermen are fed up with this type of poaching activity," said Dale Jones, Chief of NOAA Fisheries Enforcement. "NOAA Fisheries Enforcement, its State law enforcement partners, and the Coast Guard will aggressively continue their cooperative efforts to enforce fisheries laws and regulations so that law-abiding fishermen are not disadvantaged and the resources are preserved."

NOAA Fisheries urges citizens to report fishery violations during weekly business hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Eastern, to its Southeast Region Law Enforcement Division at (727) 570-5344, or after hours and weekends at its National Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.

Southeast Regional fishery bulletins are available on the region's Internet home page: http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov or NOAA's Internet home page, http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2000/.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is the principal steward of the nation's living marine resources, regulating the nation's commercial and recreational fisheries and managing species under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act throughout federal waters which extend 200 miles from the coastline. An agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA Fisheries also protects marine and anadromous species under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.