Oregon Resident Convicted of Commercial Fishing Crimes

An Oregon man convicted of two counts of falsely reporting where
he caught fish in Alaska waters faces a maximum of five years in prison, a fine
of $250,000, or both.

Freddie Joe Hankins, 47, of Cove, Oregon, is scheduled for sentencing
on Oct. 12 by U.S. District Court Judge Russel H. Holland.

The US Attorney’s office in Anchorage said Aug. 3 that Hankins
was convicted by a jury of two counts of falsely reporting which regulatory area
in the Gulf of Alaska he caught his individual fishing quota halibut.

Specifically, in 2007, Hankins caught halibut in an area where
he was not authorized to fish, because he did not have quota in that area, and he
falsely reported that he caught the halibut in a regulatory area where he did have
quota, said Assistant US Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case.

Veteran commercial fisherman Arne Fuglvog, a former fisheries
aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski now serving time for his fisheries convictions, testified
that he had fished with Hankins and it was Hankins’ practice to falsely report where
he fished for IFQ halibut because the fishing was better in the regulatory area
where Hankins did not have quota.

The jury acquitted Hankins on two other counts of false reporting.