Anti Federalist
12-26-2010, 11:55 PM
Here's the deer on ice story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122001601.html?referrer=emailarticle
I have a buddy of mine that knows this fellow:
Chatham fisherman who freed whale fined
By Susan Milton
smilton@capecodonline.com
October 01, 2009
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091001/NEWS/910010317
BOSTON — A West Chatham fisherman walked out of U.S. District Court yesterday after paying a $500 fine for illegally untangling a humpback whale caught in his fishing gear.
Robert J. Eldridge, 40, had faced a potential $100,000 fine and a maximum of a year in jail plus probation if found guilty of violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
As part of yesterday's plea deal, Eldridge acknowledged he should have called in licensed marine mammal rescue workers instead of disentangling the whale himself on July 2008 off the coast of Chatham, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.
Eldridge also gave a statement that fisheries agencies can circulate to encourage other fishermen to report such disentanglements, said his attorney, Steven Broadley of Boston.
"I am making this statement in order to alert all persons who fish or enjoy being in the waters off of Massachusetts that we must be at all times vigilant in protecting the marine mammal species with whom we share the waters," the statement reads in part.
Yesterday's plea agreement was accepted by Magistrate Judith Dein, who cut prosecutors' proposed $750 fine to $500, Broadley said.
There were two federal fisheries observers who watched as Eldridge set gill nets with whales nearby, according to the U.S. Attorney press release. He wasn't able to disentangle the whale but cut his fishing lines, which freed the whale to swim away still entangled in 25 to 30 feet of sinking fishing line, the press release states.
As part of the plea deal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agreed that the case will not affect Eldridge's present or future federal fishing license, Broadley said.
"So there should be no future consequence, other than a guilty plea to a federal offense, to his ability to make his living," Broadley said.
Not when TWIC becomes required for commercial fishermen in the next few years, he won't.
Not to mention that, more and more, corporations, in partnership with government, run criminal background checks of current and prospective employees.
A felony rap can be enough to disqualify you for both, a job and a TWIC.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122001601.html?referrer=emailarticle
I have a buddy of mine that knows this fellow:
Chatham fisherman who freed whale fined
By Susan Milton
smilton@capecodonline.com
October 01, 2009
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091001/NEWS/910010317
BOSTON — A West Chatham fisherman walked out of U.S. District Court yesterday after paying a $500 fine for illegally untangling a humpback whale caught in his fishing gear.
Robert J. Eldridge, 40, had faced a potential $100,000 fine and a maximum of a year in jail plus probation if found guilty of violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
As part of yesterday's plea deal, Eldridge acknowledged he should have called in licensed marine mammal rescue workers instead of disentangling the whale himself on July 2008 off the coast of Chatham, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.
Eldridge also gave a statement that fisheries agencies can circulate to encourage other fishermen to report such disentanglements, said his attorney, Steven Broadley of Boston.
"I am making this statement in order to alert all persons who fish or enjoy being in the waters off of Massachusetts that we must be at all times vigilant in protecting the marine mammal species with whom we share the waters," the statement reads in part.
Yesterday's plea agreement was accepted by Magistrate Judith Dein, who cut prosecutors' proposed $750 fine to $500, Broadley said.
There were two federal fisheries observers who watched as Eldridge set gill nets with whales nearby, according to the U.S. Attorney press release. He wasn't able to disentangle the whale but cut his fishing lines, which freed the whale to swim away still entangled in 25 to 30 feet of sinking fishing line, the press release states.
As part of the plea deal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agreed that the case will not affect Eldridge's present or future federal fishing license, Broadley said.
"So there should be no future consequence, other than a guilty plea to a federal offense, to his ability to make his living," Broadley said.
Not when TWIC becomes required for commercial fishermen in the next few years, he won't.
Not to mention that, more and more, corporations, in partnership with government, run criminal background checks of current and prospective employees.
A felony rap can be enough to disqualify you for both, a job and a TWIC.