US Coast Guard and NOAA seize vessel for fishing in protected area
The US Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) terminated the voyage of a commercial fishing vessel with three people aboard on Thursday, February 21, after discovering multiple violations near the Tortugas Ecological Reserve just off the Florida Keys.
At approximately 00:30 local time, the crew of the Sentinel-class cutter USCGC Isaac Mayo detected the fishing vessel Lady Kristie within a protected area.
Isaac Mayo’s crew boarded the vessel and identified an inoperable high water bilge alarm, a lack of drills being conducted, exceeding tow time restriction of 75 minutes, and fishing inside an ecological reserve, which is also a violation of NOAA regulations.
No other details of the apprehension have been provided.
