Coffman Cove commercial fisherman Dugan Paul Daniels, 55, was sentenced on March 10 to six months in prison for illegally “taking” an endangered sperm whale and falsifying fishing records while catching sablefish in 2020.
The term “take” legally means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
According to research by the prosecution in preparation for Daniels’ case, this appears to be the first Endangered Species Act charge to result from a sperm whale take in the United States.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement investigated the case.
Court documents state NOAA does not know if Daniels succeeded in killing the whale, as no sperm whale carcass was reported in Southeast Alaska in 2020.
Under the Endangered Species Act, Daniels’ actions — whether he killed the whale or not — would result in the same misdemeanor charge, said Ainsley McNerney, an assistant U.S. Attorney.
“He still is held accountable for the harassment, the pursuit, shooting at the whale, but ‘kill’ is captured in that definition as well,” she said.
In March 2020, Daniels and three crew members were fishing for sablefish southwest of Yakobi Island in the Gulf of Alaska when they confronted a sperm whale, according to court documents.
The encounter was documented in writing through text messages sent from a GPS communication device. Some of the messages stated that Daniels wished he “had a cannon to blow” the whale out of the water and that he hoped “to be reeling in a dead sperm whale.”
During the encounter, Daniels tried to kill the whale by having a crewman shoot it multiple times and by trying to ram the whale with his fishing vessel, Pacific Bounty. He said he came within five to ten feet of doing so.
Sperm whales are not something new to the commercial fishing industry. McNerney said commercial fishermen engage in dangerous activities while trying to meet their daily quotas and it’s common for them to come across sperm whales — the world’s largest toothed whale, averaging between 40 to 52 feet in length and weighing up to 90,000 pounds.
Sightings of sperm whales have become far more common, especially by longliners fishing the Gulf of Alaska who have had their catch stolen by the marine mammals, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Sablefish, also known as black cod, are included in sperm whales’ diet.
“This particular individual tried to take the easy way out, whereas other individuals are out there every day on the open seas, fighting the elements, doing the right thing and abiding by the law,” McNerney said.
The sperm whale was listed as endangered in 1970 after their populations were decimated by commercial whaling.
“This is an important sentence. It’s an important message to send to other individuals who might consider engaging in this kind of activity, that they will be held responsible, that these resources are important.”
In addition, Daniels knowingly submitted false records about his commercial fishing activities to make it appear that he lawfully caught sablefish in federal waters on two separate occasions between October and November 2020.
An investigation revealed he harvested the fish illegally in Chatham Strait and Clarence Strait. The total market value of the illegally harvested fish was $127,528.
On June 6, 2024, Daniels pleaded guilty to one count of violating the federal Lacey Act by submitting falsified fishing records and one count of an Endangered Species Act violation for an illegal take.
In handing down the sentence, the court called Daniels’ actions “deliberate” and emphasized Daniels’ 20 years of experience as a commercial fisherman and the importance of deterring others from similar conduct because of the threat it poses to the sustainability of Alaska’s marine resources.
At sentencing, the court ordered Daniels to pay a $25,000 fine and serve three years on supervised release, with a ban on commercial fishing during the first year of that release.
He will also be required to perform 80 hours of community service.
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