Probe Nets Captain of Fishing Boat

The fishing boat captain had little clue that, this time, he’d become the catch of the day. But when he stepped outside his tackle shop Monday, state Fish and Game investigators were waiting with a net of their own.

Skipper Rick Powers was handcuffed by a phalanx of officers and charged with one count of felony conspiracy to violate Fish and Game laws and six misdemeanor infractions that include using illegal hooks, exceeding catch limits and keeping prohibited species. The arrest of the 48-year-old Bodega Bay captain and a 33-year-old crew member culminated a yearlong state undercover probe known as Operation Near Shore.

Later this week, state officials said, misdemeanor complaints will be filed against 13 other party boat skippers in nine counties--from Mendocino to Orange--on a host of additional allegations that involve wounding pelicans and seals, fudging records to avoid catch limits and catching fish out of season.

In a probe that swept the entire California coast, undercover wardens posed as recreational fishermen, boarding charter boats from San Diego and Sausalito to Emeryville and Bodega Bay to photograph and videotape violations.

State officials boarded vessels up to 200 miles offshore, the limit of federal waters.

“Wardens have been overwhelmed with complaints about party boats,” said Warden Bob Aldrich, based in Bodega Bay. “Guys who are over limit for fish get encouraged to continue fishing, and their catch is distributed to other passengers who were seasick” or didn’t catch their limit, he said.

No recreational anglers were targeted because they are often unaware of state regulations, officials said. Instead, wardens went after the people they believe should know better: boat captains and crews.

Operation Near Shore kicked off more than a year ago after several amateur fisherman hired out Powers’ boat. “They were just appalled by what they saw,” said Fish and Game Deputy Chief Frederick Cole. “This guy broke just about every ethical rule of fishing on the open seas.”

Officials soon expanded their search. Eventually, other complaints came from passengers who didn’t like captains or their crews encouraging them to violate the law. “I don’t understand why party boat skippers think they’re going to take people out on the ocean and do things that just aren’t right and not expect that the passengers aren’t going to call us as soon as they get back to shore,” Aldrich said.

State officials say the charter boat industry in California is big and growing and that lawbreakers are helping to quickly deplete fish numbers. Statewide, 408 boats take thousands of day trips annually for an average price of $50 to $100 per passenger, they say.

“This is a huge industry,” said Fish and Game spokeswoman Chamois Andersen. “Our recreational fishery isn’t just some Joe Blow out on a rowboat with a hook and line. There are a lot of sophisticated boats out there.”

Fishermen’s groups on Monday were shocked by the arrests.

“I know Rick Powers, and I don’t think of him as the kind of person you arrest and handcuff,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Assn.

“Most of these charter boat captains up and down the coast are responsible individuals. I hope people don’t think these few are indicative of the whole.”

Authorities on Monday characterized Powers as a leader in Northern California’s commercial fishing industry who was an advisor to state and federal committees setting fish catch limits and other matters. He is also a board member of the Pacific Coast Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee and is vice president of the Golden Gate Sports Fishing Assn., officials said.

“This is someone who knew the rules and should have known better,” said Sonoma County Deputy Dist. Atty. Brooke Halsey Jr. “If you have someone in his capacity hiding fish and encouraging over-limit fishing, you are endangering the entire fishery by allowing this to continue.”

Bail for Powers was set at $100,000. If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison. Bail for his crewman, Atsushi Yamashita, was set at $75,000.

The most troublesome violations, wardens say, include exceeding limits on the number of fish, catching undersized fish and then masking their size by fileting them before the boat returns to the dock; using four hooks instead of the legal limit of two; and using barbed hooks while fishing for salmon. Salmon that are caught for sport and then released have much better odds of survival if the fishermen used a barbless hook.

“We’ve got reports of boats catching undersized salmon, chilling them and then later throwing the dead fish overboard,” Aldrich said. “The same goes with rock fish. They take juvenile fish just a few inches in length and cut them up for fish bait. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you pull in fish 3 or 4 inches long, you’re not going to get much of a filet. So, why take that fish? Why waste it?”

State and federal authorities--including the National Marine Fisheries Service, California Legislature, state Fish and Game Commission and Department of Fish and Game--rely on accurate catch reporting by captains to determine the health of fish populations and allocate sensible quotas.

Both commercial and recreational fishermen must follow such seasonal bag limits and restrictions on the size of particular fish as a way to ensure that no species gets overfished, officials say.

If authorities cannot rely on boat captains to tell the truth, he said, how can they accurately surmise how many fish are being caught? One season’s catch bears direct influence on the rules for the following year.

“We put a lot of reliance on those fishing logs, and inaccurate reporting can have serious consequences,” he said. “We have reports that some skippers are deliberately not filling out logs. That’s a lot of missing information.”

In some cases, negligent captains have wounded pelicans and seals that pursue their baited hooks. Aldrich said one San Diego boat reportedly hooked 150 brown pelicans and still did not relocate to a safer fishing spot. He did not know how many of the birds were killed or injured.

“If bait hits the water and there’s pelicans around, they’re going to go after it,” Aldrich said. “After several of the birds are hooked, the captain should change his tactics, even if it means moving on. Instead, they’re hooking the pelicans helter-skelter.”

He said many boats will take the chance at being caught to increase their catch.

“These captains know the consequences,” he said. “Many are now asking customers: ‘Are any of you game wardens?’ They know what they’re doing is wrong. But that doesn’t stop them.”

Dressed in blue jeans, T-shirt and sunglasses, Powers on Monday sat handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car as officers searched his office and the 65-foot lime-green party boat New Sea Angler that was docked nearby. Neither he nor family members could be reached for comment.

Standing in front of a gallery of pictures of amateur anglers and their catches taken on the boat, officers confiscated numerous three-and four-hook fishing leaders that are considered illegal equipment in California.

“When people boarded this boat with legal gear, this captain would change their gear to the four-hook bait,” Halsey said. “That way, he provided them with a distinct, if illegal, advantage in catching fish.”

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Times staff writer Kenneth R. Weiss contributed to this report.