Alaska fisherman pleads guilty to federal charges after ordering crew to shoot whale

A sperm whale is seen successful an undated photograph published by nan National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (NOAA photo)

A Southeast Alaska fisherman has agreed to plead guilty to a national misdemeanor aft admitting that he directed nan shooting of a sperm whale northwest of Sitka successful March 2020.

According to national tribunal filings, fisherman Dugan Daniels ordered a personnel of his unit to sprout nan whale and tried to ram it pinch his sportfishing boat, the Pacific Bounty. 

Daniels besides agreed to plead blameworthy to a felony for lying astir a sablefish drawback successful autumn 2020, according to nan matter of nan plea deal. His lawyer declined remark connected nan case.

The charges and nan plea woody were revenge by national prosecutors past week and were first reported by Court Watch, a newsletter that monitors national ineligible filings nationwide.

Under nan position of nan agreement, Daniels will salary a $25,000 good and beryllium sentenced to nary much than 6 months successful prison, pinch nan nonstop word to beryllium group by a judge. 

Daniels besides will execute 80 hours of organization service, and if he owns, operates aliases manages a commercialized sportfishing vessel successful nan future, it must beryllium monitored by nan National Marine Fisheries Service.

Daniels is simply a committee personnel of the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association, which oversees food hatcheries successful confederate Southeast Alaska.

Association head Susan Doherty said she was unaware of nan charges until contacted by a reporter. Daniels had been appointed to nan committee to capable a vacancy, she said, and had been serving since January.

Reagan Zimmerman, spokesperson for nan U.S. Attorney’s agency successful Alaska, said nan agency is “unaware of immoderate anterior criminal lawsuit involving nan taking of a sperm whale successful nan District of Alaska, truthful this is simply a first of its benignant case.”

The lawsuit was investigated by nan NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, she said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is nan genitor agency of nan National Marine Fisheries Service.

A NOAA lawyer declined remark connected Friday.

According to nan plea deal, Daniels recounted his brushwood pinch nan whale, “specifically, his unit shooting nan sperm whale, his efforts to ram nan whale pinch nan alloy and coming wrong 5 feet of doing so, and his desire to termination nan sperm whale,” successful matter messages to aggregate people.

The archive isn’t clear astir whether nan whale survived nan encounter.

“That accusation is not wrong nan nationalist record, truthful our agency cannot remark connected nan position of nan whale,” Zimmerman said.

Explaining nan sablefish felony, nan plea woody states that Daniels falsified fisheries records truthful that it appeared his vessel caught much than 12,000 pounds of sablefish — besides called achromatic cod — successful national waters. In reality, national prosecutors said, he caught nan food successful authorities waters, wherever nan fishery is much tightly regulated.

Court records show Daniels is scheduled to look successful tribunal astatine Juneau connected June 6 to beryllium arraigned and formally connection a blameworthy plea.