NC Captain Admits Illegal Striped Bass Harvest

WILMINGTON, NC – JAMES RALPH CRADDOCK, 71, of Manns Harbor, North Carolina, is facing federal prison time after admitting to a decade-old scheme to illegally harvest and sell Atlantic Striped Bass. The captain pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges stemming from a 2010 operation that flouted a longstanding ban on fishing for the species in federal waters.

The bust began in February 2010 when a NOAA Special Agent received intel about commercial trawlers poaching striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – the area three to 200 miles off the North Carolina coastline. A ban on harvesting Atlantic Striped Bass in the EEZ has been in effect since 1990, designed to protect the vulnerable species. A Coast Guard patrol intercepted the Lady Samaira, one of seventeen suspect vessels, and found 173 striped bass onboard. The captain quickly confessed to hauling the fish from prohibited waters.

Investigators didn’t stop there. NOAA analysts dug into electronic data and reports from all seventeen trawlers. The review revealed that CRADDOCK, then captain of the 74-foot vessel Capt Ralph, had harvested over 12,000 pounds of Atlantic Striped Bass during the 20-day North Carolina ocean trawl season. A closer look showed that between February 1st and 4th, 2010, CRADDOCK illegally netted 1,750 pounds of striped bass from the EEZ, worth an estimated $14,000 on the retail market. He sold the illicit catch to a dealer in Wanchese, NC.

The evidence against CRADDOCK mounted. He’d sent an email, via the Capt Ralph’s vessel monitoring system, admitting to catching the striped bass south of Buoy No. 8 – Bodie Island Lighted Buoy No. 8, located 6.5 nautical miles offshore, firmly within the EEZ. Vessel monitoring system data further confirmed the illegal harvesting. To cover his tracks, CRADDOCK submitted false information on his federal vessel trip reports, concealing the true location of the catch. A blatant attempt to deceive federal authorities.

“Fishing for striped bass in federal waters in violation of this longstanding and well-known moratorium has the potential to seriously impact this iconic species, to the detriment of the many honest commercial and recreational fishers who depend upon this fishery,” stated Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden. U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina added, “These prosecutions make clear that efforts to circumvent laws regulating commercial fishing will be enforced vigorously.”

CRADDOCK is scheduled for sentencing on March 27, 2017. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The investigation was a joint effort by NOAA Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the North Carolina Marine Patrol, and the Virginia Marine Police. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Banumathi Rangarajan and Trial Attorneys Shennie Patel and Joel La Bissonniere of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.