Bolinas fisherman Josh Churchman was fined $36,000 for fishing in federal waters off Bodega Bay after inadvertently crossing into a protected rockfish area. Churchman, 58, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials failed to notify him that he was regularly fishing in the area between 2006 and 2009, even though he made a dozen trips with NOAA scientists during that time.

His attorney, Jack Siedman, has unsuccessfully petitioned NOAA to waive the fine, which includes four violations. “When did I become a criminal?” asked Churchman, who has fished off Cordell Bank for 25 years. “I always thought fishing was an honorable profession. They moved the line and didn’t tell me, and for that I’m a criminal.” A hearing is scheduled for July 13 at the Alameda Coast Guard station. His fishing partner, Ed Paasch, who was fined $19,000 for fishing in the same spot, will also attend.

Twenty-two miles out from Bodega Bay, Cordell Bank has always been a popular fishing hole. But over the years, NOAA has closed areas to restore diminished populations of rockfish. By 2003, Churchman was limited to a football-field-sized area on the western edge that was still rich with chilipepper rockfish—not an endangered species.

“The fish I’m accused of sneaking over the line to catch aren’t even endangered fish!” he said. Churchman is allowed to catch chilipepper, as long as he doesn’t do it where chilipepper live.

Trespassing in prohibited waters is the most common fishing violation, and NOAA officials dismiss most of these cases with either a verbal or written warning. According to NOAA, agents only file civil suit in the most egregious cases. “I can’t imagine a less egregious case. You have two guys fishing, you tell them to stop and they stop!” said Siedman, who is also representing Paasch. “This case is so shitty.”

The local rockfish industry has been squelched by a combination of decreased catch quotas, increased regulations and expanded rockfish conservation areas (RCAs) like the one Churchman is accused of breaching. “It’s killed most of the small fishing operations. All of a sudden it was just three of us,” Churchman said. In 2000, fishermen landed over 80,000 pounds of chilipepper, which are one of the most abundant rockfish species in Bodega Bay. In 2006, that number had dropped to 6,000.

That year, NOAA shifted the line to exclude Churchman’s last chilipepper spot. Captains are required to familiarize themselves with changes to prohibited areas, but Churchman did not check the register.

The following year NOAA officials contacted Paasch to inform him that he was violating the RCA. Paasch told Churchman about the zone change, but Churchman was convinced that the officials were in error.

For years he had carried a mandatory Vehicle Monitoring System (VMS), which transmitted his location to a NOAA monitoring facility. It wasn’t until the summer of 2009 that the agency notified Churchman of the violation, after allowing him to accumulate enough violations for a serious civil suit. Yet between 2006 and 2009, Churchman took NOAA scientists to Cordell Bank a dozen times. “I assumed we were working together. I thought we were playing on the same team. I feel like a fool,” he said. Churchman said the observers knew the regulations and reported his position to NOAA, but at no point did any of them tell Churchman he was breaking the law.

Spokespeople for NOAA said they could not comment on ongoing investigations. After he was cited, Churchman asked them why they had not told him. “You know what their response was? ‘That’s not our job. It’s not our obligation to tell fishermen,’” Siedman said. No one that he had worked with came forward to support his case.

Churchman’s is far from an isolated case. The profusion of complaints about NOAA’s law enforcement branch sparked an investigation by the Department of Commerce’s Inspector General earlier this year. Investigators talked to dozens of fishermen on the eastern seaboard, and found abuses of authority by NOAA enforcement personnel, disparate treatment and excessive fines. The inquiry also found that the system encourages respondents to settle cases, regardless of culpability, because of high costs associated with contesting the charges.

One fisherman complained that he was issued a penalty three years after his violation. In the intervening years, he lost many of the details of the incident and was unable to adequately defend himself. Another fisherman was fined $75,000 and had his entire catch seized for fishing in a prohibited area. However, NOAA’s data showed that when he was inside the closed area he could not have been fishing because the course and speed of his vessel were inconsistent with the act of fishing. He eventually settled the case for $25,000.

The VMS requirement has also caused significant problems for fishermen. “When they make a mistake with their machine, no one’s at fault. But when we make a mistake, we get fined,” Churchman said. Churchman was almost cited several years ago when his VMS malfunctioned. The data showed that he had stayed docked during the day, even though he returned with a hull full of fish. Fortunately, a NOAA biologist was taking samples with Churchman that day, and was able to verify his location.

A NOAA committee recently denied a request for exemption by Churchman and other Bolinas fishermen from the problematic monitoring device. Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey, Representative Lynn Woolsey and State Assemblyman Jared Huffman sent letters in support of the exemption.

Churchman was honored by NOAA in Washington, DC last summer for his volunteer efforts and environmental spirit. “I think this case is an embarrassment to NOAA,” said Siedman. “Josh was reasonable in believing he was fishing in the right place. Give him a warning and move on.”