The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published several proposed settlement with American Seafoods over violations of the Clean Water Act by its vessels that include the American Dynasty, American Triumph, Northern Eagle, Northern Jaeger and Ocean Rover.
The EPA alleges American Seafoods violated the terms of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for offshore seafood processors discharging seafood processing waste and other wastewater into federal waters off the Washington and Oregon Coast. The EPA is seeking civil penalties totaling $999,000 (€915,000), according to the agency.
The EPA said in September it evaluated the compliance of the Oregon and Washington seafood processing industry and found that American Seafoods Company and the owners of its vessels stood apart from the other Oregon and Washington offshore fish processors in the number and severity of violations. The vessels are the American Dynasty, American Triumph, Northern Eagle, Northern Jaeger and Ocean Rover.
“In amassing hundreds of violations from illegal discharges to sloppy and even non-existent record-keeping American Seafoods Company demonstrated a clear disregard for the fragile and valuable resources that sustain its business,” said Ed Kowalski, director of EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance division in Seattle. “When issuing a permit, EPA confers to the permit holder the responsibility to protect our nation’s resources. We expect the company-wide, systematic overhaul of its operations will re-focus American Seafoods Company on the true value of its permit, the importance of tracking compliance with the permit, and the resources that permit entrusts it with protecting.”
In separate Consent Agreements, the government agency has required the company to pay $999,000 in penalties.
The EPA cited the seafood company for violating its permits by discharging into a prohibited zone, failing to submit quarterly processing photographs, failing to sample, failing to submit discharge monitoring reports, exceeding sample holding times, failing to submit no-discharge reports, failing to submit non-compliance reports and failing to include necessary information in annual reports.
“American Seafoods has long prioritized sustainable management of our fisheries and our commitment to environmental stewardship," a company spokesperson told IntraFish when asked about the issue in August. "This dispute with the EPA is a paperwork issue related to reporting, filing, and interpretation of data in a new NPDES permit covering Washington and Oregon."
The company added "American Seafoods continues to have the highest priority focus on reporting and compliance and looks forward to putting this matter behind us."
Since America Seafoods was notified of the allegations in March 2023, the company said it has provided all and complete documentation to the EPA and held several consultative sessions with the agency to explain the data that the vessels provide to EPA and better understand how EPA uses that information.
The company's spokesperson said the interactions have allowed the EPA to better understand the seafood company's operations and related data. It has also helped American Seafoods better understand how EPA interprets the data American Seafoods submits.
The company added it is continuing to work with third-party consultants to ensure ongoing compliance, and has assigned additional staff and updated its processes and data forms to ensure reporting is complete, accurate and timely.
"The cooperative process with EPA has improved understanding and communication between the parties," the company said. "American Seafoods will continue to work cooperatively with the EPA to ensure ongoing compliance."
The company said in a 2022 sustainability report its fleet of six "classified fishing vessels employs the latest technologies and have been continually optimized with upgraded equipment over the years to maximize operational and fuel efficiency."
"Our catching, processing, and freezing uses no land or freshwater resources, which results in premium products with a minimal environmental footprint," the company said.
| Date | Vessel | Penalty (USD) |
| 11-Aug-23 | American Dynasty | $193,000 |
| 11-Aug-23 | American Triumph | $180,000 |
| 11-Aug-23 | Northern Eagle | $240,000 |
| 11-Aug-23 | Northern Jaeger | $196,000 |
| 11-Aug-23 | Ocean Rover | $190,000 |
In July litigation between American Seafoods' affiliates Kloosterboer International Forwarding (KIF) and Alaska Reefer Management (ARM) and the US government over hundreds of million in fines imposed for using a controversial route for transporting Alaska pollock to the US East Coast was settled.
American Seafoods also earlier this summer acquired a major processing vessel as part of plans to bolster its whitefish harvesting fleet.
The group acquired the Phoenix, a processing vessel operating in the Pacific hake fishery (also known as whiting) off the Pacific Northwest coast, from Seattle-based Phoenix Processor Limited Partnership.
In May the private equity parent of American Seafoods announced it would close out the fund holding the Alaska pollock fishing giant, putting the group back on the block a year after it suspended its hunt for a buyer.
Bregal Partners said the fund holding American Seafoods would be liquidated, along with all other holdings in the fund, which include whitefish harvesting group Blue Harvest Fisheries.
