ANCHORAGE -- Criminal charges have been filed against three companies and two individuals charged with wasting fish from the 2001 Togiak herring fishery.
The charges were filed Jan. 15 in Dillingham District Court against North Pacific Processors, Yard Arm Knot Co., Togiak Fisheries Inc. and two processing plant managers.
While the Togiak fishery is for herring roe, the law says processors must use the male herring as well. They are typically used for fish meal, oil or bait.
According to company records, the Togiak plant had processed about a million pounds of herring and dumped about half a million pounds between May 7 and May 12, 2001. The herring was ground up and dumped in the water outside the plant.
A cold snap had burst most of the pipes at the Togiak plant. Company officials said they were forced to dump the male herring because they didn't have enough water on site to render them into oil as they usually did.
