Alaska Fishermen Plead Guilty To Deliberating Scuttling Their Boats

The Alaska Beacon has a report on three Alaska fishermen who have plead guilty to deliberately destroying their own boats. Here are details:

According to court documents, Fisher deliberately scuttled the fishing vessel Igloo near Sitka in March 2025 and admitted doing so to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The navigable waters of Southeast Alaska are especially precious to the communities who depend on them,” said a sentencing memorandum signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt. “Illegally scuttling vessels creates risk to the environment and can create a hazard to navigation if done carelessly.”

By phone, Schmidt said it appeared as if Fisher was trying to dispose of his boat but forgot about the boat’s EPIRB — the emergency beacon that automatically deploys and messages the Coast Guard if a boat sinks.

When the Coast Guard contacted Fisher, he admitted sinking the Igloo.

The fishers will be sentenced late this month.